Side B : Love Negima!
by Shaun Garin
Summary: [LHAUverse MSNAUverse][Side B Companion to Side A] On the reversed side of the spectrum, recently graduated nine and a half year old Negi Springfield finds himself manager of the Hinata House Girls Dorm.
1. Chapter 1 : Welcome On Your First Day!

"I'm going to be a fortune teller in London! What's your assignment, Negi?"

"Lets see..."

Negi Springfield, age 9 and ½. Just graduated from the Wales Magical Academy with high marks. In his hands was the diploma that would assign him to a magical post in order to guide the new Magister in Training.

"A Inn Caretaker..." said Nekane.

"In Japan?" Finished Anya.

"MAGUS!"

* * *

And the wheels of fate turned once more, this time shifting gears.

* * *

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Mahou Sensei Negima and Love Hina are created by Ken Akamatsu. All characters used for entertainment purposes only. All rights reserved and all information comes from Akamatsu's manga.

Chapter 1 : Welcome On Your First Day!

* * *

"Hello? Is anyone at home?"

Negi set down his bags as he looked around the spacious Inn. "Wow, it's so big. I wonder how much room this place sits on?"

"Hello?" Called out Negi but there was no answer. Wandering deeper into the Inn, there were various rooms that showed signs of habitation but no one answered. "Wow, I wonder where all the residents are? Unless... I'm the only one here?"

"Hello?" Called out Negi once more but there was no answer again. Then, turning the corner, Negi's eyes lit up. "Wow! An open aired bath! I never thought I'd be running a place with a hot spring!"

Sniffing at his collar, Negi made a face. "Well, I suppose a bath is in order. Or just a long soak."

Shucking off his clothing quickly and heading into the water, he sunk in deep to his neck. "Oh wow, this is really nice! I could sit here for hours!"

Negi sighed as he leaned up against a rock and stared into the skies. "Anya... Neesan, I'm going to do my best here. Don't worry."

Just then, the sliding door slid open and Negi looked to see who was coming in. Then, he gaped in shock as a blue haired girl sank down into the water. "Wha...?" stammered Negi.

"Mmmm... the water is great," she said. "Don't you think so Su?"

The girl looked over at Negi who froze. She froze simultaneously and Negi raised a hand. "Um, hello?"

"KYAAAAAAAH!" Exclaimed the girl, bolting out of the water. "There's a pervert in the bath!"

"I'M SORRY!" exclaimed Negi as he ran out of the bath, trying his modesty towel around his middle. And then he slammed into a very shapely form that belonged to a auburn haired girl who looked down at him in surprise as she was clad in a towel. One of her long hairs hit his nose and with a tremendous sneeze, blew her towel off her.

The girl, exclaimed her outrage as she screamed, "Pervert in the bath! Naru Punch!"

Negi found himself flying backwards. 'Wha? Her blow nearly destroyed my wind barrier!'

"A pervert!" exclaimed a girl with long hair and carrying a long sword. "Die!"

"AIYEEEEE!" exclaimed Negi as he took off like a shot through the changing rooms. "Don't let him get away!" cried the auburn haired girl as he crashed headlong into the blue haired girl again. "I'm sorry I BLAUGH!"

The girl had struck him with a frying pan out of nowhere as Negi was sent flying through the nearest wall and crashing into a girl who was in the middle of a beer. The beer splashed all over them and Negi got up, both hands on her breasts. The girl looked at him curiously as the auburn haired girl and the girl with the sword came running in. "Get him, Kitsune, that's the pervert!"

"It's a misunderstanding!" exclaimed Negi but the kenko-ka was faster with a cry of "Boulder Cutting Blade!"

"EEEEEEEEEEE!" Negi flew upwards in a high arc and crashed landed onto a high placed deck with a couple of bounces and then rolled to a stop at the foot of a tanned girl who poked him twice. "Ouch," whimpered Negi as the other girls came to a stop having caught up.

"Now we've got you, you pervert!" exclaimed the auburn haired girl.

Negi moaned as he dragged himself up to the railing of the deck and hauled himself up. His modesty towel fell off and there was a round of gasps. "Yooouuuuuu," growled Naru. "Iron punch!"

"GAAAAH!" Enunciated Negi as he bounced once onto the roof. "Can't we talk this out?" he called out as he scrambled to find a loose tile to cover himself with.

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed the auburn haired girl. "You come here, take a dip in our private Hot Spring, peep on Shinobu while she's naked, molest Kitsune, blow off my towel...!"

"Please, I only came because I was supposed to become the manager of this dorm!" exclaimed Negi.

"What's going on up here?" asked Urashima Haruka as she walked up. "Naru, why are you picking on a ten year old boy?"

Naru blinked twice and then took a good look at the boy, slipping her glasses on. "Oh... um... oh... but housemother, he came in and groped the residents and saw Shinobu naked! He's even showing his THING to us!"

Negi squeaked and covered himself up. "I can explain! I was sent here to become the manager of the dorm! I didn't mean to be any trouble!"

"Hmm," said Haruka. "Interesting. Girls, get him some clothing. We need to talk about this."

* * *

"No WAY! We can't let this perverted little brat stay here!"

"Calm down, Naru," said Kitsune as she tried to hold Naru back from savaging the little boy. "You really want to be known as the slayer of little children?"

"But he's a pervert! He probably traumatized Shinobu for LIFE by showing his THING to her! She's only in the seventh grade!" exclaimed Naru.

"Um, it wasn't so bad," said Shinobu. "He's just a little boy. He wasn't like a man after all."

Negi sunk into a deeper despair. Why did his first assignment begin like this?

"Well there's just a hitch with this," said Haruka as she held out a sheaf of papers. "Granny Hinata has faxed me this morning with instructions to have Negi Springfield the caretaker of the dorm. The rest of the dorm and the lands and subsequent area around it goes to Urashima Keitaro, my nephew."

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Naru. "Not only we have to let this little kid be our caretaker but the Dorm is being owned by a guy? One we haven't MET yet?"

"Indeed," said Motoko. "This is a girl's dorm and not one for men to be around. Even little men."

Kitsune laughed. "I'm surprised that Granny Hinata sent a ten year old from Wales no less. You have to wonder how much she gets around."

"But... we can't have someone like this run our dorm! He's barely even into his teenage years, what are we supposed to do, wet nurse him!" exclaimed Naru.

Negi sighed and got up. "I'm sorry for the trouble everyone. I was just looking forward to the job really. I guess I'm headed back to Wales."

As Negi walked to the door, grabbing his pack and his wand, Haruka cleared her throat. "Actually, you can't leave."

"What? But no one is happy here with me." Protested Negi.

"That's just it," said Haruka. "Read the last page."

Negi scanned it and paled. "You mean...?"

"Yes. This is a TEST, Negi."

The girls looked back and forth as Negi sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't be any problems if I actually stayed here, would it?"

"Granny Hinata is backing him as well," reminded Haruka.

"He is a nice and well mannered kid," said Shinobu.

"As long as he does not interrupt our daily life, it is all right with me," added Motoko.

"I like him! He has a lot of HPs!" exclaimed Su.

"No problem here," said Kitsune and Naru found herself outnumbered.

"Fine fine. Welcome to the Hinata House."

* * *

"They're all so violent," said Negi to himself as he rubbed his jaw. "I wonder if all Japanese girls are like that or these ones in particular have issues?" 

Pushing the doors to the room labelled "Landlord's Room", Negi dropped his things and stretched out, wincing. 'Those girls are strong... I could barely keep my wind barrier from dropping constantly.'

Negi sighed and closed the door and then jumped a meter. "Whaugh! Su!"

"Hey, what's this?" asked Su as she pulled out a pistol with a long rounded barrel and Negi freaked. "Wow, it's a magical gun, .34 gauge with magical bullet chambers!"

"Nooo!" exclaimed Negi in shock as Su continued to paw through his things. "Those are really delicate!"

"Wow, so much stuff!" exclaimed Su as she flitted around the room, placing things in what Negi realized was a delicate spacing to keep various types of magic from interacting badly.

"You know what these are?" asked Negi.

"Mmm hmmm!" exclaimed Su. "My brother likes to collect these things! He goes around the world studying abroad and collecting neat things like this!"

"Oh," said Negi as he placed his wand to the side of the door. "I suppose if you know what these things are, it's okay."

"You have a lot of antiques here," said Su. "You a collector?"

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it," said Negi. "Um, could you leave? I sorta need to get dressed."

Su grinned and skipped out of the room as Negi sighed heavily. "That was close. She almost pegged me down for a wizard."

Looking at his wand, Negi sighed and slumped to the floor. "It could have been worse I suppose, but..." His face flushed as he recalled the memory of the naked blue haired girl, Shinobu. "Shinobu was really pretty."

"Um, excuse me?" asked Shinobu as she knocked on the door. "I was wondering if you wanted some tea."

Negi made an "erk" sound as he quickly dressed into a pair of slacks and a shirt that read "I Can Fly 1999". "Oh, Shinobu-san," said Negi politely. "Come in."

"You must be tired," she said as she set down the drinks on the table. Negi sat across from her, his legs folded underneath himself in traditional Japanese seiza. "I brought some herbal tea and rice balls before supper is ready."

"Oh thank you!" exclaimed Negi as he took a sip of the tea. His expression became wide eyed and sparkly. "Oh wow! This is so good!"

"Is it?" asked Shinobu, blushing. "I thought you'd like it."

Negi smiled and drank more of his tea. "Do you do most of the cooking in the inn?"

"We all take turns mostly," said Shinobu. "But there's times when I also clean the place. We had to with Grandmother Hinata away on her world tour."

"That must be interesting. Do you get any messages from her usually?"

"The occasional fax here and there." Shinobu smiled as Negi bit into his rice ball and finished it off in quick succession. "I'm glad you like the food."

"It's incredible," said Negi. "It makes me feel at home, you know?"

Shinobu smiled shyly. "Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Hello!" exclaimed Su, ramming a kick into Negi's head. The Ministral Magi in Training went sprawling head over heels in surprise with a "Phrrrgh!" as Su landed on his back. "You alive?"

"Augh! Su! Why did you kick him?"

"Because he reminds me of my brother!" exclaimed Su happily as Negi got up, surprisingly carrying Su's weight.

"I'm glad someone enjoys this," said Negi with a laugh as Su dangled off his neck and walked along with her hands.

* * *

"PUNCH!" Shouted Naru as she struck Negi. "What the heck are you doing in my bed?"

"Owwww, I'm sorry Narusegawa-san, I sleep walk and back home I sleep with my sister so..."

Naru softened at the sight of Negi tearing up but coughed into her fist. "Look, you can't go around sleeping with the girls in the dorm, okay? I know Su does it, but try to ask before you start crawling into someone's futon, okay?"

"Yes," said Negi as he rubbed his head. 'Twice now my wind barrier nearly failed me. Is she really THAT strong?'

"Hey Naru! You're late for Sasaki Seminar!" exclaimed Kitsune as she threw the door open. She then took in the sight of Negi in Naru's room and Kitsune grinned foxily. "Well now, this is a surprise. We'll leave you there right now."

"KITSUNE!" exclaimed Naru and Negi made a "Erk!" sound as Shinobu, Su and Motoko appeared in the doorway.

"Awwwauuugh," exclaimed Shinobu as she fainted. Su grinned and said, "Eeew, kinky!" and Motoko went beet red.

"Narusegawa-san, you are doing... this and that... with a ten year old?" exclaimed Motoko, also a brilliant red color.

"No no no! He sleepwalks and sleeps with his sister..."

"That's true! Narusegawa-san smells like my sister and I sorta..."

"No excuses!" Shouted Motoko as she went to town on Negi with a shout of "Evil Cutting Flash!"

"Aiyeeeeeee!" Negi went sailing out the window as Motoko followed.

"That's a bit harsh, ain't it?" asked Kitsune as Su decided to join in the melee with a "Whee!"

Naru sighed. Then, Kitsune's words sunk in. "Oh no! I'm late, I'm late!"

In a flurry of skirts and clothing, Naru was out the door, stuffing a rice ball into her mouth. "Thanks for breakfast!" she exclaimed.

Negi stumbled into the lobby and looked at Naru who ran past him. "Where is she off to at this time of day?"

"Sasaki Seminar," said Kitsune. "She's a high school student trying to get into Tokyo U."

"Really? That must be such a wonderful goal for her! I never knew how Japanese girls were so dedicated to getting into the top ranked school of the country." said Negi with sparkles in his eyes.

"Hehehe, Negi's like an old man, so traditional," said Kitsune.

"This'll get it out of him!" exclaimed Su as she drop-kicked Negi who to his credit, did not go flying head over heels but she did land on his head, her skirt flipped up. "Whoops!"

"ARRRRGH!" exclaimed Negi, flapping his arms as Su grinned and hopped off his face. His face was brilliant red.

"Looks like poor Negi is getting off seeing my panties, huh?" said Su with a wide grin. "If you want, I'll show them all you want!" With that, she lifted her skirt and Negi back-pedalled with Su chasing him, shouting "Lookie, lookie!"

Shinobu roused and looked at Su chasing Negi chanting "lookie, lookie!" while holding her skirt up and fainted once more.

* * *

"Negi, are you all right in there?"

"Urgh," said Negi as he crawled out of the space. "I'm fine, I just needed to get at this spot."

Kitsune smiled as she said, "You know, you work hard for a kid. Makes me want to do something new and unique."

"It's fine really, I... ACHOOO!"

The resulting gust of wind nearly blew the Ebisu Beer out of Kitsune's hand as the wind kicked up. Kitsune raised an eyebrow. "Odd weather in here."

"I'm home!" exclaimed Naru as she walked in the door. "Crazy day today, Kitsune. I met this guy who's the nephew of the Housemother."

"Really?" asked Kitsune. "What's he like?"

"Well for one, he's a sensei at our old school," said Naru as she took her hair out of the thick braids. "Secondly, get this, he's a second year Ronin trying to get into Tokyo U!"

"Bwahahahahaha!" laughed Kitsune. "Oh wow, I thought you said he was a sensei at Mahora Academy and a second year Ronin!"

"I did," said Naru as she finished undoing her hair. "And that perverted bastard is shacking up with Konoka-chan! The nerve of him so I let him have one. Oh, Negi, you're covered in dust! Kitsune you didn't help him?"

"Negi wouldn't let me," said Kitsune as Naru dusted off the child. "So yeah."

"Honestly," said Naru. "Negi, go take a bath, okay?"

"Um... the fact is that... um..." said Negi. "I... don't like baths. I like hot springs but not baths..."

"That's no good," said Naru as she grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him away. "You might be a kid but you still need to clean up after yourself. C'mon, lets get you a bath. Kitsune, drag out my old school swimsuit, would you?"

Kitsune giggled and went upstairs to find said garment.

The bath was nice and clean due to Negi's hard labour as Naru got his clothing off and changed into the swimsuit that Kitsune provided her and sat him down on the stool. "Here, soap and shampoo. You want me to do it?"

"Um... Narusegawa-san, it's scented. I'll smell like a girl."

"No, you'll smell like ME," retorted Naru with a grin as she dumped a bucket of water on his head and ran her hands into a lather. "C'mon, if you're going to work hard, you want to be clean afterwards, right? You're such a kid anyhow. I can't believe you're such a hideous pervert."

"I-I'm an English gentleman!" said Negi, feeling put off. "I'm not interested in female bodies."

"You seemed like it yesterday," said Naru as she dug her hands into his hair. "Look, even though you're the manager of the dorms now, you're still a kid. Most of us are over sixteen years old now, and we can all handle ourselves. Why are you HERE anyhow?"

"It's... sort of a test for me," said Negi. "To see if I can become better."

Naru let out a sigh as she rinsed his head off. "A test huh? I know how that feels like."

"You were saying something about a guy you met?"

"Oh, well a guy who just happens to be the grandson of Granny Hinata is a sensei at my old school. I went to school in Mahora Academy for junior high. I think my favourite sensei was Takahata-sensei."

"Takahata-sensei? Takamichi?"

Naru lathered up his back and said, "Yeah, do you know him?"

"Small world. I didn't think that nut was a sensei now. He was a friend of my father and I learned how to fight for one month under him." said Negi. "I'm surprised he's at a school right now."

"Well, in any case, I went to school there and my grades were kind of bad. At the end of the junior high year, I moved here to Hinata House. I also got a tutor, a friend of Haruka's. He was a nice guy."

"I'm surprised that you're trying to get into the top ranked University. How come?"

"Well, I suppose it's because of my old tutor," said Naru as she rinsed Negi off and helped him into the water. "Noriyasu Seta was a friend of Haruka's and I always thought that one day, I could see him and then say, I did it."

"Aaah," said Negi. "It's a wonderful thing, shooting for a goal."

Suddenly, Su appeared out of nowhere and drop-kicked Negi. "HELLO!"

"You know, we never had a welcome party for Negi," said Kitsune as she emerged from the changing room. Shinobu appeared behind her with a tray of food while Motoko followed in her own school swimsuit. "Party for all!"

"You guys, Negi's having a bath!" exclaimed Naru in protest.

"Ooh, Negi parts!" exclaimed Su, grabbing low. Shinobu fainted.

"Perverted slimeball!"

"WHY ME!"

* * *

"What a rowdy bunch," sighed Negi as he entered his room and flopped on the floor. "Oh! There's a hole in the ceiling. I think Narusegawa-san lives above me."

Grabbing his staff, he floated upwards and pushed the lid off. "Narusegawa-san? BLAUGH!"

Naru was in the middle of pulling her panties down and Negi went a brilliant crimson red. "OH MY GOD!" exclaimed Negi, trying to duck down but his shirt got snagged on the rotted boards.

At the sound of Negi's exclamation of shock, Naru turned to see Negi clasping a hand over his face while waving the other. A flash of hot anger surged through her body as she realigned her pyjamas and hauled Negi up through the hole with her incredible strength, staff and all. "I'm really sorry." Said Negi, flinching to brace himself for the punch.

"Look, you can't keep doing things like this!" exclaimed Naru hotly. "Kid or not, I'll hit you good if you keep doing things like that!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Negi, truly afraid. "I really just want to fit in, you know? I didn't think it would be this hard."

Naru sighed once more and set him down on his feet. "Look, you're young. So why are you here, playing manager for us?"

"Because I have to." Said Negi. His hands curled around his wand and he looked over the skylight of Hinata City. "Because I want to see him again."

"Who?"

"My father. They said he's dead but one night, long ago, he gave me this staff," said Negi. "I kept it because maybe one day, I'll get to see him again."

"I see." Naru set the little boy down and said, "You know, did you ever make a promise?"

"A promise?" asked Negi curiously.

"Yeah, a promise to see him again. I'll bet you did, right?"

Negi nodded. "If only to myself. I wanted to see him again."

"Heh," said Naru, ruffling his hair. "Look, get to bed. But no sneaking into my bed, all right? If you need to find someone to sleep with, I'm sure Su would be all right with that."

"You're actually helping me?"

"Of course..." Naru ruffled his hair again. "You're our landlord and you're still a kid. You probably miss your family, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," said Negi. "All right, thank you, Narusegawa-san."

As Negi ran off, Naru jumped at the sound of Haruka behind her and the tang of her cigarettes. "I'm impressed," said Haruka.

"Haruka-san? When did you get up here?" asked Naru, her heart racing.

"I got one of those hunches," said Haruka as she held up a hammer. "He's still a kid so go easy on him. Sure he's durable but that's just something you have to live with, okay?"

Naru smiled and shrugged. "All right. But I can't say anything for the others."

"Negi's a perv!" exclaimed Su from the lower levels and Negi went flying out the dorm.

* * *

"Aaaah, what nice weather we're having," said Negi as he swept up the steps. "I think this is going to be a nice post for my Ministral Magi training."

Nearing the bottom of the steps, the Hinata Lower Tea House stood open as Urashima Haruka stuck her head out. "Good morning, Negi." she greeted. "Isn't Kitsune helping you with this?"

"Kitsune-san is doing the upper half of the steps," said Negi as he pointed upwards. There was Kitsune working on her steps at a bit of a slower rate than he did. "Motoko-san is training, Shinobu-san is working on dinner and Su-san is somewhere."

"Hmm, good to know. I think you've eared a break, Come on in for some tea."

Negi soon found himself sitting at the Tea Shop counter as Haruka served him up a rich black tea. "Here you go," said Haruka.

"Thank you," said Negi as he sipped his tea.

"So how was the first two days at Hinata House?" asked Haruka. "All right?"

"It was all right," said Negi, obviously embarrassed by the amount of skin he had seen over the two days. "The girls are very spirited in this place."

"It's the place," said Haruka with a smile. "Don't worry about being serious for a while. You're still a kid and you need your time to adjust. Come visit whenever you need advice, all right?"

"Thank you, Haruka-san."

Haruka smiled and let the formality slip. "All right, I think Kitsune is slacking off again. Go and get her working, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am," said Negi and escaped before Haruka could perform the punch of death.

Halfway up the stairs, there were loud shrieking sounds and then there was the sound of Motoko crying out "Shinmei Ryu special technique, Boulder Cutting Blade!"

There was a tremendous explosion and Negi made a "ACK!" sound as he took off at top speed. At the top, Mokoto stood, her hakama top hanging out and her breast wrappings half undone. Shinobu was laying on the ground, eyes spinning and Su was running around with some kind of energy propelled net with Kitsune standing back, observing the chaos. "What's going on here?" exclaimed Negi.

"There's some kind of perverted furry beast in the house!" exclaimed Motoko, obviously uncomfortable and frightened at her near molesting. "Negi, as the manager, you must drive it out!"

"All right, leave this to me!" exclaimed Negi.

He soon found himself at the forefront of the newly dubbed Hinata Protection Squad which consisted of himself, Motoko and Su who was armed with a weapon that seemed to hum and pulse. Kitsune waved the banner behind them and Shinobu carried a frying pan and looked very nervous "So... what is this thing anyhow?" asked Negi curiously.

"It is a evil creature," said Motoko as she placed a hand on her sword. "THERE!"

A blur erupted from a room and Motoko swung her sword. "Demon Cutting Blade!"

The burst of chi flared out as the creature dodged. Su flicked on her weapon and laughed. "Firing the Anti-Perverted Beast Gun!"

A thunderous clap of energy erupted from the barrel as it smashed a hole in the wall the size of a car. "Come back here!" exclaimed Su, gleefully shooting and Motoko close behind.

"W-wait!" exclaimed Negi but the girls were too far away. "Oh dear." Taking off into a run, the girls were attacking the white blur and every so often, there would be a yelp of panic as one of the girls would be attacked by the evil creature.

The fighting spilled out into the courtyard as Motoko, half naked by now, flared her aura angrily and raised her sword. "Ultimate Strike, THUNDER BLADE!"

There was a tremendous blast of energy as Negi shielded himself, Kitsune and Shinobu with a uttering of his wind shield. When the dust settled, there was a cry of "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING!" As Naru erupted from the rubble.

"Whoops, we caught Naru-yan in the blast," said Su, grinning widely.

"Naru, did you see the demonic creature?" asked Motoko.

"You mean this demonic creature?" Asked Naru, holding up an unconscious snow-white Ermine who carried a bra in his mouth.

"K-Kamo-kun!" exclaimed Negi.

The Ermine stirred and then to everyone's shock, said in a dazed tone of voice, "No more cigarettes Anesan, I need to cut down."


	2. Chapter 2 : Wish You Were Here!

'I did it, I'm doomed. I'm going to be sent back to Wales and grandfather will turn me into an Ermine. I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm dooooooooommmmed,' moaned Negi to himself as he rolled around in his room. He had already packed and was prepared to head out, his things rolled up in a traveling bag.

A soft tapping at the door and Shinobu called out, "Negi-san? We've reached a verdict downstairs."

Negi sighed, got up and grasped his wand. Opening the door, he looked at Shinobu who looked at him but averted her gaze quickly. The pair headed downstairs where the girls were having a conference to see what to do about the new landlord.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Negi looked up at the expressions of the girls. All of them looked serious. Swallowing, he bowed and said, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. I'll leave now."

"Who said anything about that?" said Kitsune and Negi stopped short from summoning his luggage. The fox girl smiled and stood up. "Look, just because you've held out that you're this wizard from Wales, doesn't mean you're going to be kicked out."

"But, I thought you were making a vote to see if I was to be kicked out!" exclaimed Negi in shock.

"Kamo explained it to us," said Motoko. "He said you are a Magister Magi in Training. A guardian angel for people who are in trouble. How can you call yourself a man if you give up when your secret is blown?"

"I... I..."

"Negi," said Naru. She smiled and then punched Negi across the room. "Don't be so HARD on yourself!"

"Narusegawa-san," stammered Negi, feeling the red mark of her hand on his face.

"You want to give up trying to prove that you're as good as your father? To finally meet him and say, 'Yes father, yes Thousand Master, I did it'? That's not the person we know, right? You made a PROMISE to yourself that you would see him some day."

"Go big brother, go!" cheered Kamo from the table. "We'll beat this thing together!"

"I... thank you!" exclaimed Negi.

"Now that's settled, we're partying!" exclaimed Su, grabbing Negi. "Do some fireworks!"

"Help meeee..." trailed off Negi as the girls set in for a giant sized party.

* * *

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

Chapter 2 : Wish You Were Here!

* * *

"Narusegawa-san? I brought some tea and snacks." Negi knocked again on the door. "Narusegawa-san?"

Peeking into the room, the slight breathing of Naru could be heard as she was slumped over the kotatsu. Opening the doors and setting down the food on the table, Negi poked Naru tentatively. "Narusegawa-san? Are you awake?"

Laying a hand on her forehead, Negi gasped. "Oh no, you're burning up!"

* * *

"Eighty seven degrees Celsius," said Kitsune as she shook down the thermometer. "She really must have been pushing herself hard for the last few weeks now."

Negi sighed as he watched Kitsune change the cold compress on Naru's head. "I'm surprised she didn't tell anyone she was feeling ill."

"It's just like Naru actually," said Kitsune as she brushed a lock of auburn hair away from Naru's face. "Hey, you're a hot-shot wizard and all. Why don't you try and cure her cold?"

"I'd love to, but I'm not that skilled in medical spells, or potion making of that type," said Negi. "If I had some kind of ingredient list and some time to figure out what they put into the potions they use to treat a cold it could work, but Narusegawa-san would be up and about by the time I'm done brewing it."

"Eh, forget that. Look, just watch over her and change her compress every so often. I'm gonna run into the market to get some of the cold relief that Haruka-san keeps giving us whenever we got sick."

As Kitsune left, Negi watched Naru sleep. 'She certainly is cute when she sleeps,' Negi thought to himself and then shivered. 'It'd be like dating big sister. Eeeww..'

Changing the compress after a few minutes, Negi hummed a melody that his own sister Nekane sang to him when he was a child. Growing up together without their father was something of a challenge for the pair, considering that Nekane never fully recovered from the attack on the village nearly five years ago.

Shrugging off the memories of her sister lying prone on the ground and his father standing against the background of the burning village, Negi dabbed the cool compress against Naru's skin. Naru shifted and then all of a sudden, cried out, "Negi you idiot!"

"Augh, noooo!" Exclaimed Negi but he was merely grabbed and pulled into a hug. "... finish cleaning the hot springs..."

Negi stiffened but then decided to relax. 'Narusegawa-san, you're just tired, sleep now,' he thought as he brought up a hand and rested it on her stomach. "Sleep."

Slowly, Negi's eyes closed as one of his hands held fast to his wand. The wand glowed for a half a moment before Negi fully dropped into a deep slumber.

* * *

"Mu-chan! Kei-kun! Where are you?"

Negi blinked twice and then looked at his astral body. "Oh no..." he moaned. "Now I've done it! I fell asleep with my wand in my hand!"

Anya warned him about his bad habit of doing so. Occasionally, he would dive into someone's dreams, a strict violation of one's personal space and ethical morals. When that happened, it was harder for him to wake up until the person stopped dreaming.

Looking down at the girl in a small kimono and short hair, the little girl wandered around the halls of her dream. "Kei-kun! Mu-chan!" Naru called out again until she turned the corner. "Aaaah! Mu-chan! Kei-kun!"

In a slightly fuzzy memory, like many, there were two children who played in a sandbox. The details of the people were hard for Negi to make out, but one was at least a little boy and one a girl.

"Did you know, that when two people like each other that go to Tokyo U, they'll be together forever?"

"Really?"

"When we're older, lets go together, all right?"

"Ah!" Exclaimed Naru. "Wait! Kei-kun! Mu-chan! I wanna go too! Don't leave me!"

* * *

"Ah!"

Naru sat up and immediately regretted it as the room spun. Sinking back down onto her futon, she rubbed the sweat out of her face and found a cold compress lying on her ear, having fallen off her head. "I... what kind of dream was that?" wondered Naru to herself. She desperately tried to grasp at the dream but it quickly faded.

Looking down at her stomach, Naru blinked twice at Negi who slept soundly, one hand sprawled on her stomach. "Mm... sister..." he mumbled.

Restraining the urge to hit him, Naru sighed and let him rest. "What an odd dream," she said to the roof. "Somehow it felt important. But why can't I remember anything?"

"Mmm..." said Negi as he reached out and folded Naru into a hug, resting his head between her breasts. Naru went red. "Soft..."

"Why... you... PUNCH!"

* * *

"Ow," said Negi as he rubbed his head. "Narusegawa-san certainly hits hard even when she's ill."

"I think she's just having PMS," said Kamo-kun and was immediately socked by a charging Naru that came out of nowhere.

"I heard that you perverted ermine," growled Naru angrily. "Why don't you leave me out of one of your perverted conversations?"

Kamo-kun crawled out of the ermine-shaped hole in the wall. "You know Anesan, you have really good punch there. Why not form a probationary contract with Aniki?"

"A probationary what?" asked Naru curiously.

"Kamo-kun, I don't think I need a partner right now," protested Negi. "I have a lot of time to do that anyhow."

"Okay start talking ermine," said Naru as she picked up Kamo-kun and set him on the table. "Talk."

Kamo-kun lit a cigarette and puffed on it. "Well, a Ministral Magi requires a partner, or as we call it, a Ministra Magi. They act as defence in a battle, and the shield as a Magi is the sword."

"So, in other words, Negi-kun, being the little precocious child he is, needs a lover, eh?" summarized Kitsune, having appeared out of nowhere.

"GAH! Kitsune-san!" exclaimed Negi, jumping back in shock.

"I too have heard of this practice amongst Western Magi," said Motoko, although her face was painted with a blush. "I know that the men and women of this side of the world use onmyou gods, creatures conjured up and summoned with talismans."

"How does this contract thing work anyhow?" asked Naru curiously.

"It's formed using a magical circle to form the probationary contract or pactio as we call it. The old way was open veins, swap blood but now we use a kiss on the lips." said Kamo-kun proudly. The girls fell over in surprise.

"A... kiss on the lips?" Stammered Shinobu, going red.

"Oh yeah," said Kamo-kun with a grin. "Although I'm sure that someone like you girls have already tons of experience with this sort of thing."

Motoko coughed into one hand. "I think it is for the best that we do not go through with this madness for a while."

"A pactio, huh? Is it tasty?" asked Su curiously.

"Depends on the person, I guess," said Negi.

"Does it taste like... banana?" asked Su, mouth watering. Everyone sweated.

"Um, maybe? If the person actually ate a banana previously MRPHGH!"

Negi flailed his arms as Su cheerfully shoved a banana into his mouth. "Aaaaugh, Su! What are you doing!" exclaimed Shinobu in shock.

"I wanna see if a pactio tastes good!" Exclaimed Su, but was snagged by Kitsune.

"Cool your jets," said Kitsune. "We can experiment with this later, right?"

Negi finished swallowing and coughed. "Um, I suppose so. There's no rush and all..."

"Great! Lets experiment now!" exclaimed Su, pouncing on Negi.

"ARGH!" Enunciated Negi.

* * *

"He's such a brat at times, ugh," exclaimed Naru as she sipped her tea. "Bringing up something like adult kissing in order to create a pactio."

"It is a bit less messy than opening your veins, Anesan," said Kamo with a shake of his head. Touching his cigarette to Haruka's to light it, the ermine shrugged. "Look at it this way. Negi, just by BEING his father's son can get attacked. Many people remember the name of the Thousand Master and it's a bitter name for a lot of people."

"The ermine is right," said Haruka. "Besides, you're not thinking to leave a kid like Negi alone, are you?"

"No, I just think this is stupid, that's all," said Naru in a huff. "If he wants to make this pactio thing, he can go and make it with Su. She's willing enough."

"Su-neechan is insane, you know that, right?" said Kamo and Naru gave him a look.

"Haruka-san!" called out Negi and Naru froze. "Haruka-san, are you open?"

"Come in," called Haruka. She turned to see Negi and Kamo hiding under the table. Naru made a few "I'm not here" signs as Negi sat down with a sigh.

"Are you all right, kiddo?" asked Haruka.

"Kind of," said Negi. "I'm just sort of upset that Kamo brought up the whole Pactio thing. I know it's a requirement for becoming a Ministral Magi, but it's still something I want to do later on."

"You brought this upon yourself, you know," said Haruka as Negi looked more worse for wear than usual. "Even though you need a partner to protect you in battle, it IS something of an odd thing when you go around asking girls to kiss you."

"I didn't do such a thing, I'm an English gentleman!" protested Negi but his words fell on deaf ears as Haruka blew a cloud of smoke in his direction. "Haruka-san, please, help me out here!"

Haruka looked at him and sighed. "You know, there's nothing wrong with it. But right now isn't the time actually. You're still young and you have time to decide who you want to give the pactio to. It's not something to be used lightly."

"I know," sighed Negi. "I'm sorry for raising my voice, Haruka-san."

"Hey, that's all right," said Haruka. "Go on, I think supper is on and it's Naru's turn to cook. You want to experience her cooking for at least once in a lifetime."

"Thank you," said Negi as he grabbed his staff and flew away.

Haruka chuckled and then cleared her throat. "Okay Naru, Kamo, get out from under the table." The pair looked sheepish as they crawled out. "Naru, try and focus on getting that Tokyo U exam in, all right? I'm sure the others are behind you with it, and I'm sure Negi is too. He's a sweet kid."

Naru sighed and nodded. "All right. C'mon Kamo-kun."

"Hold on, leave the ermine." Naru looked confused but did so. As she left, Haruka loomed over Kamo and cracked her knuckles. "So Kamo-kun, what's this about getting 50,000 Ermine Dollars per proper pactio card?"

"Er... no comment?"

There was a brief shimmer in the room and a hideous crashing noise. "FORGIVE ME HARUKA-SAN!" cried Kamo.


	3. Love Negima Special 1!

Side B : Love Negima! Special!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima and Itsudatte My Santa are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu and used for entertainment purposes only. For time line references, this is set during the large time frame between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Love Negima in an effort to flesh out the universe in the giant gaps.

Special 1: Festive 1999

* * *

"It's 1999!" cried Su as the Hinata House went into celebrations with crackers exploding everywhere, sending out festive streams and pieces of confetti.

"It's time to PARTY!" shouted Kitsune as she produced several bottles of beer and wine. "C'mon Naru, join the celebration!"

"I will, I will," giggled Naru as she picked up her own bottle. "So, Negi, how do you like your first year at Hinata House?"

"It's very entertaining," laughed Negi as Kitsune plopped down beside him to watch Su dance around, dressed in a men's school uniform and throwing around her pompoms. Motoko had been fed some alcohol and between the two, they were living it up.

"C'mon Negi, drink, drink up!" exclaimed Kitsune, pushing a drink into his hands. "It's one day, right?"

"Er, I don't really know," said Negi as he looked at the alcoholic beverage in his hands. "Maybe some juice instead."

"Aw c'mon, drink up!" laughed Kitsune as Negi flailed in her arms as she pressed a bottle into his mouth. "Drink, drink!"

"Kyah, stop it Kitsune, he can't take much more!" exclaimed Shinobu and Negi hiccuped.

The boy hiccuped, sneezed violently, sending things blowing across the room and then proclaimed in a loud voice, "Nekane I did NOT hide your underwear!" He then collapsed on the ground, eyes swirling madly.

"Whoops," laughed Kitsune but by then, the Hinata House party was already in full swing.

* * *

"The light... it burns..." moaned Negi as he curled up into a ball of misery. "Why won't it stop hurting?"

"RISE AND SHINE, NEGI!" shouted Su and Negi whimpered. "Heya, you okay in there?"

"I had to drag Aniki back upstairs," said Kamo as he rolled over. "He's heavy when he's sauced."

"Ooh, I have a native cure for that," said Su as she threw off Negi's blankets, pried his mouth open and poured a liberal amount of a thick grey substance. Negi went several shades of the spectrum, resulting in plaid and then he achieved a hundred yard dash in six seconds down the stairs and into the bathroom.

"Lemme guess," said Naru as Negi staggered out of the bathroom. "Su's home remedy."

"I have never tasted anything so vile," muttered Negi as he wiped his mouth. "I didn't know if the alcohol was coming in or out one end or another."

"Well, are we going to get a move on sooner or later?" asked Naru and Negi blinked.

"Huh?"

"We go to the Kichijoji Temple every year," said Naru. "It's Japanese tradition you know."

"Oh, sure, let me clean up first."

Freshly bathed and dressed in a simple pair of slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, Negi followed the small group of Hinata House girls. "You're not dressed in a kimono, Negi-san?" asked Shinobu curiously and Negi shook his head.

"Haruka-san didn't have one small enough for me, and for a guy too," said Negi. "I'll probably have one for next year."

"Oh, where's Naru-san?" asked Shinobu. Negi turned around and nearly fell over in shock at the sight of Naru dressed in her clothing she used for studying, complete with her hair in thick braids and wearing thick glasses. "Naru-san, you're not in a kimono?"

"No time for that for Tokyo U hopefuls," said Naru with a shake of her head. "Lets just get this over with."

Kichijoji Temple was crowded with people and Negi looked around the area in amazement. "Wow, where did everyone come from?"

"This is a yearly event, so people from the entire city come here. There's usually one or two shrines but Hinata City only has Kichijoji Temple and Hinata Temple way on the other end of the city." said Shinobu. "I think the first thing is that you should go and get your luck drawn."

"Oh, okay, this is all new so thanks for your help Shinobu-san."

Shinobu blushed and the pair headed off for the fortune stands.

* * *

"What did you pull?" asked Shinobu as Negi unfolded his slip.

"Just one second," said Negi as he looked it over. "Whoa..."

Reading over Negi's shoulder, Shinobu exclaimed, "Kyah, awesome luck? Fateful encounters, reunions, the chance of meeting one's lost past? That's amazing! I only got normal luck."

"... Worst... Luck?" said Naru from the side of the stand and looked over at Negi and Shinobu. "I hope that's not a sign."

"Lets go tie that one to the trees here," said Shinobu. "We wouldn't want you to get worst luck this year, Naru!"

Naru laughed weakly. "Yeah, sure."

* * *

"What did you pull?"

"Worst luck."

"Oh dear," said Mai. "Do you want a sudden influx of luck?"

Santa laughed and shook his head. "Naw, I'll be fine. I didn't expect this to happen so we'll go and tie this to a tree."

"Right," said Mai cheerfully. "Oh, what's that?"

Santa looked over and said, "Hey, it's a lion dance! But why now? Someone's got their festivals mixed up."

The lion performer looked over and then it took out into a dead run at them. Santa yelped as the sharp jaws sunk into his head and a tanned and familiar head popped out of the costume. "Hello!" Su exclaimed happily. "You just got bit by the good luck lion! He'll be lucky for a year!"

"Um, he's bleeding," said Mai as Santa twitched on the ground, fangs sunk deep into his head.

After patching up Santa with some good old fashioned medicine, Su looked the pair over and then said, "Heeeey, you're the Santa's I caught on Christmas!"

"Eh? No, not really," said Santa in a panic. "We're just normal people here, really."

"Okay then," said Su as she stood up. "So what's your name?"

"Er..." said Santa and Mai volunteered it for him.

"His name is Hajime Santa and he was born on December twenty-four."

"MAI!"

"Oooh, so in a way, you really ARE a Santa," said Su. "That's coolie."

Santa sighed. "We should get this tied to a tree then. No sense letting something wrong happen again."

* * *

"There we go," said Naru as she fixed the tag to the tree. "Hmm?"

A face peered out at her from behind another set of tags and the pair chorused, "ACK, YOU!"

"I think I'm gonna head out, bye!" called out Keitaro and Naru grabbed his shirt collar. "URK!"

"What the heck are you doing here?" demanded Naru. "You're at least an hour and a half away from Mahora!"

"Would you believe the Tatsumiya Shrine is terribly busy and to even get there by midnight, I had to wake up by four am?" said Keitaro weakly.

Naru stifled a giggle and failed, giggling madly. "Oh man, that's just LIKE you! Sheesh, did you even get through your visit yet?"

"Well yeah, I did," said Keitaro. "That's why I was planning on heading home after I stopped by the Print Club Booth I saw a while ago."

"All by yourself? That's kind of SAD don't you think?" said Naru and Keitaro twitched.

"Hey, don't mock my hobby!" protested Keitaro as they headed down the stairs.

At the bottom of the shrine stairs, Naru looked over at Keitaro and asked, "So, is there anything you do besides taking pictures of yourself at Print Club booths?"

"Well, I read a lot," said Keitaro. "And I like the occasional manga."

"Did you read the latest Sayuki?" asked Naru and Keitaro shook his head. She grinned mischievously and added, "You probably like a eechi-style manga like Mahoromatic or maybe even you're one of those guys who lurks around stores, getting up the nerve to get your favorite CLAMP Shojo-manga."

"That's not funny!" sputtered Keitaro, red in the face. "For your information I do enjoy the occasional Takahashi manga and I've been reading Yu-Gi-Oh!"

"So you really are a guy," grinned Naru. "And do you have copies of Ikkitousen stashed somewhere as well?"

Keitaro sputtered. "What about you? I'm sure you just drool over the stuff like Gravitation and Angel's Sanctuary!"

Naru went red and exclaimed, "What do YOU know?" while thudding him on the side of the head with a fist.

Both red in the face, they turned the corner as the Print Club booth came into view. "Well, I suppose I should take my photo now," said Keitaro.

"Wait, hold on. It's too pathetic for you to take it alone," said Naru, still red in the face. "Here, I'll take one with you."

"Really?" asked Keitaro as she shoved him into the booth. A click and a flash later, the pictures spat itself out. "Wow, my first picture with a girl!"

"Too bad it was a girl like me," said Naru, sticking her tongue out at him as Keitaro fished out his Print Club album and stuck the picture onto a fresh page. Taking out a pen, he scribbled down the date and noted, "With Naru" under it. "So, you heading back now?"

"I gotta, classes won't let up and I need to finish reviewing for the second mock exam," said Keitaro with a sigh. "Must be easy for someone like you who's top in the class."

"Hey, I study a lot," said Naru. "You should just try to learn to focus, you know?"

"Yeah," sighed Keitaro. "So I noticed you were here with your friends and a kid. Is that the kid who's running the dorm?"

"Yeah, he's kind of a weird little kid," said Naru. "But he's dependable."

"That's good," said Keitaro. "Well, I gotta get going. I'll see you on Monday at Sasaki Seminar."

"Hold on there," said Naru as she got up. "We're going to have a New Years Day party at the Hinata House. Why don't you stop by for a while?"

"God I would love too and actually stop by this time around, but there's a stack of essays to be graded. Sorry. Maybe next time."

Naru smiled. "All right. Maybe next time we'll be pounding at your door to get you up before the shrine fills up."

"Right. Well, take care Naru-san."

* * *

Naru leaned back as she watched the residents party loudly as Kitsune fed each and everyone alcohol. Rubbing her forehead, Naru got up from where she sat and said, "I'm getting some air."

"Oi, Naru, get some more drinks from Haruka, would ya?" called out Kitsune and Naru grinned before heading out the door.

Outside, the cooler air prickled at Naru's skin as she loosened her hair from the thick braids. As she took off her glasses, a figure moved at the edge of her sight. Placing them back on, she quirked an eyebrow at the sight of Keitaro who was sitting in the sandbox, his fingers moving in the sand. "What's he doing here still?" she wondered as she walked over.

Keitaro ran his fingers through the sandbox, staring into the fine grains. "It was here, Tama-chan," said Keitaro. "Here was where I made the promise."

"Myuh?" asked Tama-chan and Naru paused in her walk towards him.

"I know it's weird, but this is where Mai said that the lines of destiny wove itself. It's kind of odd really. Why would I be drawn here all the time?"

"Myuh," offered Tama-chan and Keitaro chuckled.

"Hey," said Naru and Keitaro turned. "I thought you'd be back at Mahora by now."

"I... kind of felt like I had to come here," said Keitaro as he stood up and stared at the sandbox. "Lots of memories here. And then... Christmas Eve."

"When you were in the dorm," said Naru. "I still owe you for sneaking in here, acting like a looter."

"Hey!" Protested Keitaro. "I was just..."

Naru smiled before she said, "Thanks for the watch."

"Huh?"

"The watch you gave me for Christmas," said Naru, holding up her wrist to show it off. "I didn't think you'd actually leave one here but you know..."

"Oh... well, yeah, I did," said Keitaro, flustered. It was in truth Mai who had pulled it from her sack but obviously it had been labeled from him. "I guess I should head out now."

"Wait... it's getting late. Why not stay for the night? Of course..." said Naru, blushing. "You have to sleep on the couch in the lobby, right?"

"But, it's a girls dorm," protested Keitaro and Naru scowled. "All right, all right! I'll just sleep in the lobby and be done with it!"

"Hmph," said Naru as she stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

"Naru," said Motoko the morning after. "There is a man sleeping in the lobby."

"That's just Keitaro, the owner," said Naru. "He'll be on his way."

"He looks... like the one who broke in on Christmas," scowled Motoko and Naru shrugged. "You do not want me to remove him?"

"No, just let him rest. He'll be up and about soon enough," said Naru.

Suddenly, from the lobby there was a cry of "PHRGH!" as there was a tremendous explosion and another cry of "Kyah, Su, don't shoot him!"

Naru rolled her eyes. "And a good second day of 1999 for you too, Keitaro."


	4. Chapter 3 : The Crunch Time! Studying

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

Chapter 3 : The Crunch Time! Studying Paying Off?

* * *

"Today's the day," said Naru as she pulled a blouse on. "God I'm so nervous! I don't think I could feel good anymore if I didn't get in." Heaving a sigh, she looked at her reflection and ran a finger down the mirror. "I guess today's the moment of truth."

"Narusegawa-san!" The door slid open as Negi stood there with Shinobu and Su. "We brought you a celebratory... cake?"

"PERVERT!"

Negi stumbled backwards with the cake slammed over his head and Naru slammed the door shut. "I... think she's nervous," said Negi.

The train ride to Tokyo University was busy as usual. Naru watched the people get on and off before the stop was announced. On the grounds of Tokyo University, the place was packed with people.

'There's so many people...' Naru thought to herself as she headed for the large announcement boards. 'Please, tell me I made it.'

Finding the N's, Naru looked at the list. "Nanase, Nan..."

Naru's expression fell. "No..." she whispered. There was no Narusegawa listed on the board.

Tears threatened to leak out of her eyes as she turned around to leave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Keitaro stumble away as if in a daze. 'He didn't make it either,' Naru realized with a sudden start and in a sick and perverse way, it made her glad that Ronin-sensei wasn't a Tokyo U student either.

Weaving through the crowds, Naru broke out into a run. Tears streamed down her face as she charged blindly through the crowd towards the trains. And then, with a sudden jerk and a thud, she crashed into a body and the pair went tumbling to the ground.

"Oww," said Naru, getting up. A girl lay on the ground, seemingly dazed from the blow. "I'm so sorry miss I... miss?"

Checking the girl's pulse, Naru let out an ear-splitting scream of horror. "OH GOD SHE'S DEAD!"

Naru flailed around in a panic as thoughts raced through her mind. 'My life is OVER! Naru Narusegawa, kills an innocent bystander on the eve of failing her Tokyo U Entrance Exam!'

"Oh hello!" said the girl and Naru fell over in shock.

* * *

"I'm so sorry for bowling you over," apologized Naru once more as she flagged down a waiter for another mug of beer. "I'm really, really sorry. I just found out I failed the Tokyo U Entrance Exam and please forgive me!"

"Oh, my, you too?" said the girl and Naru blinked. "I failed mine as well. These were my testing scores from this years Center Exams."

Naru took the paper and slipped her glasses on. Her face took on a what the fuck expression as she looked at the results. "Z... MINUS! AT LEAST WRITE YOUR NAME!"

"Oh my," said the girl somewhat cheerfully. "I suppose I should remember to do that more often."

Naru sighed as she took a sip of her beer. "I'm sorry still. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Narusegawa Naru."

"I'm Otohime Mutsumi. Nice to meet you Narusegawa-san," said Mutsumi. She then proceeded to drain the beer in front of her. And then commandeered Naru's drink and drank that too.

"You... drink a lot, huh?" said Naru as she flagged down for three more mugs.

"I don't see why not, it's good beer," said a voice to the side and Naru made a loud "ACK!" sound as Kamo grinned at her.

"Kamo-kun! You're not supposed to talk in public!" Shouted Naru and then looked embarrassed as everyone looked at him. "And what the hell are you doing here!"

"I was in your purse. Aniki is getting boring." The now drinking and smoking ermine grinned a fuzzy grin. "Hey sister with the big knockers, you taking care of Naru-chan for us?"

"What's with the Naru-chan, I'm older than you!"

"I'm twenty four in Ermine years!" protested Kamo.

"Oh my, I'm twenty one in turtle years," chimed in Mutsumi, clearly unaffected by the sight of a drinking Ermine.

"You... don't think it's strange that an Ermine speaks Japanese?" asked Naru, one eye twitching.

"Of course not, I have lots of experience in turtlese," said Mutsumi and Naru couldn't tell if the girl was joking or not.

"So, Naru-chan," said Kamo, lighting up a cigarette. "What'cha going to do? Everyone's back at Hinata House for the party."

"I.. don't know," said Naru. "I think I may just want to go to Kyoto, like I planned originally. You know, to celebrate. Well that was the original plan anyhow. Now it's more like a heartbreak healing trip."

"I live in Okinawa," said Mutsumi. "Maybe we could travel there together!"

"Eh?" said Naru. Then, Kamo noticed something in Mutsumi's bag.

"Hey, big knocker-neechan, what's with the Last Will and Testament?" asked Kamo and Naru's jaw dropped.

"Oh my, well, it's because I'm sickly and I tend to pass out anywhere so if I die, then someone will know what to do with me!" said Mutsumi cheerfully.

'Is she for REAL?' The ermine and the girl thought in shock.

* * *

"Hello, the number you requested is not in service," said Su cheerfully and Shinobu made an "ACK!" sound a second before she flattened the crazy Indian girl with a portable thermos.

"Hello? Naru-san? Where are you? You didn't come home and left a strange message!"

"_I'm sorry for all of the trouble, Shinobu-chan. I'm on the Shinkansen on the way to Kyoto. I met a girl named Otohime Mutsumi and me and Kamo-kun are on the way there. She's really sickly, to the point of actually liable to die on the trip and we don't want her to die out there after abandoning her._"

"Eh? A girl named Mutsumi? Shouldn't you be coming back or something soon?"

"_I'll be back in four days and in time for my graduation ceremony. It's a two day round trip to Okinawa. If you're that worried, send the brat out. He can fly here, right? Oh, I'm running out of time on my card. I'll call when we reach Kyoto._"

"Naru? Naru-sempai?" Shinobu made a frustrated sound as the line disconnected.

"So, she's going to Kyoto with a girl?" said Kitsune and Shinobu jumped a meter. "I think she's going to drown her sorrows in Kyoto."

"And the perverted ermine is with her," said Motoko.

"Um, she said she would be fine," said Shinobu.

"What should we do then?" asked Negi. "Shouldn't we just sit back and wait for her to return?"

"Nope, Motoko, grab your bags! We're going to go to Kyoto!"

"Eh?" said Motoko as she was dragged away by Kitsune.

"Kitsune-san! What about us?" called out Shinobu as Kitsune dragged Motoko to the door.

"Be sure to lock the doors at night and don't let the kid take advantage of you and Su!" called out Kitsune.

"Take... advantage... of?" stammered Shinobu. Negi blinked and Su laughed.

"I'll let you take advantage of me, Negi-chan!" Exclaimed Su, jumping onto Negi's back and trying to kiss him.

"Argh!" Exclaimed Negi, running around in a circle, waving his arms in a panic.

"No Su, bad dog!"

* * *

"Oooooh, Kyoto is so nice this year!" Exclaimed Mutsumi as she and Naru walked off the train. "Oh my, it's so cold too!"

"Um, wait a minute, why IS it so cold anyhow?" wondered Naru.

"Hey, Naru-chan, is Morioka anywhere close to Kyoto?" asked Kamo-kun and Naru froze in shock.

"M-Morioka!" Naru spun and looked at the sign and then screamed. "NOOO! I knew we were going in the wrong direction!"

* * *

"Here we are in Kyoto," said Kitsune as she and Motoko stepped off the Shinkansen. "Now where too?"

"Kitsune, I don't have any more money to find a hotel," said Motoko with a sigh.

"Eh? Where'd it all go anyhow?" asked Kitsune.

"You... and the last twenty stops on the way here!" Exclaimed Motoko. "From between Hinata City to Kyoto Station, you INSISTED on getting off at each station to sample the delicacies!"

"Maa, don't be like that!" Exclaimed Kitsune, waving a hand as she laughed. "Oooh, the famous tea and wasabi mochi stands!"

"KITSUNE!" Motoko sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

Sitting down heavily on the nearby bench, Motoko heaved a giant sigh. "Here we are in Kyoto with no money to return home and Kitsune keeps wanting to sample the local delicacies from each stop. Could things get any worse?"

"Maybe, but that depends on your point of view," said the woman who sat next to Motoko.

"Eh...? TSURUKO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Screamed Motoko, back-pedalling. "I think I'll take the next train out!"

"Hold on there, little sister," said Tsuruko calmly as she reached out and snagged the top of Motoko's hakama. "I was actually coming for a visit but when you stepped off the Shinkansen I abandoned my thoughts. So little sister, why are you here right now?"

"Um, well, we were here to bring Narusegawa-san back to the Inn. She was reacting badly to not getting into Tokyo University and fled to Kyoto." stammered Motoko. "Unfortunately we are out of money for the rest of the trip."

"Indeed," said Tsuruko. "Motoko-han, I will lend you the money for the remainder of the trip."

"Eh? Really?"

"Of course. There will be enough money for tickets and some food here and there. But Motoko-han... there are things that you can succeed in, and it is not just the sword. Keep that in mind when you continue on this journey."

Motoko looked at Tsuruko strangely and her bird, Shippu made a Squack sound. "What... do you mean by that, sister?"

"You will see..."

"Motoko, come and have some of this awesome soybeans!" called out Kitsune. Motoko turned over to her and sighed.

"Sister, I have... to...?" The space beside her was empty and Motoko noticed a cherry blossom floating away. Motoko sighed and prepared to pay Kitsune's tab.

* * *

"My goodness that was quite a journey," said Mutsumi cheerfully as the pair floated on the water. "First going north to Morioka and then falling off the boat and now we're at sea! At least the sun is warm and there isn't any giant squids or Monstro hanging behind us."

"What are you talking about, Mutsumi! We're lost in the middle of the sea with nothing to drink or eat or anything!" freaked out Naru, waving her hands in a panic.

"Naru-chan is right!" added Kamo-kun hotly. "I'm drying up here! I'm an Ermine, not a TURTLE!"

"Oh, well I have my dried squid," said Mutsumi cheerfully.

"THAT'LL JUST MAKE US EVEN MORE THIRSTY!" Too tired to shout anymore, Naru flopped backwards, her hair dropping into the ocean. "How did this happen? I thought this would be a nice easy trip. Instead we're a day into the ocean and I said I'd be back in four!"

"Well look at it this way, Naru-chan," said Kamo-kun, as he was slumped over the side of the raft. "We're not dead yet."

"Don't call me chan, perverted ermine," grumbled Naru. "Call me Anesan if you want but no more Chan business, all right?"

"Oh my, what's that?" asked Mutsumi and Naru looked up.

"Oh no," said Naru before the storm hit.

* * *

"Reports of a small but fierce storm is reported in the crossing between Okinawa and the Kyoto Harbour. If you are planning on traveling in that area, please be advised that this is not recommended. The reports are coming in that the winds are traveling at nearly sixty kilometres an hour, and there have been waves sighted to be an estimated thirty feet tall."

Negi turned off the radio as he looked at the clear blue skies above Hinata City. "I sure hope Narusegawa-san and the others are all right."

"I hope so too," said Shinobu and Su merely nodded as she stuffed another banana into her mouth. "It's rather quiet around here without the others."

"Motoko isn't here either," said Su thoughtfully in between bananas. "So I got to sleep with Negi-chan last night!"

"Eh heh heh, yeah," said Negi, feeling the kinks still pop as he moved. Su was surprisingly strong for a girl her age and she nearly crushed him alive in his sleep the night previous.

Shinobu went a little red as she poked at her food. "So, Negi-san? What involves that Probationary Contract?"

"Oh, well, the probationary contact or the pactio as well call it is a contract that is formed between a wizard and a person to protect the wizard. You see, our major weakness is that we have to stand still while casting a spell and we have no way to keep ourselves protected and uninterrupted during that casting timeframe."

"Hmm, low DEF count and high HPs? Couldn't you equip something that'll raise your Casting speed?" asked Su curiously and Negi, despite the odd words shrugged.

"I guess so," said Negi. "Although high mobility is difficult with being a wizard."

"In that case, I'm gonna make something for you!" announced Su and she finished her bananas in record time. Dashing up the stairs, there was a sequence of loud bangs and thuds and Shinobu and Negi sweated.

Su ran down the stairs, kicked Negi in the head and then strapped what looked like a backpack onto his back. Negi got up and looked at the curious metallic device and said, "What's this for?"

"It's my Super Speed Booster! You press this button to start, this to stop and this to self destruct!" announced Su as she stabbed the button for Start. "Switch On!"

The device flipped out two large wings and Negi swallowed. "Uh oh." With a fwoosh of engines, he was propelled screaming into the skies where it exploded into a cloud of multicoloured smoke.

"Oh god Su, you killed him!" screamed Shinobu as Negi plummeted to the ground. A second before he hit, he managed to right himself and skim the ground while riding on his staff.

Hopping off and looking distinctly crispy around the edges, Negi laughed and said, "I didn't expect it to explode like that!"

"Hmm... Negi likes to ride on a staff, huh?"

"Uh? NOOO! DON'T TOUCH THE WAND!"

"COME BACK HERE! LEMME MODIFY IT!"

"THIS WAS MY FATHER'S WAND! YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO IT!"

"AAAAUGH, SU STOP IT! YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK THE WAND!"

Haruka chuckled as she watched the kids run around. "Kids."

* * *

"Uhhh... huh?"

"Oh, Narusegawa-san, you're awake!"

"Anesan! Thank god! I had to give you CPR to get you breathing again!"

Naru realized the implications of the statement and hurriedly spat several times, feeling like she needed to Clorox her mouth. Kamo-kun looked distinctly put off. Then, she noticed her state of undress and made an "EEP" sound. "Why am I in a swimsuit?" Naru demanded hotly.

"Oh my, well your clothes were soaked through with seawater and it was something I kept around often," said Mutsumi, giggling.

"I suppose it's not a bad fit," said Naru but then realized her audience. "Kamo... you saw didn't you!"

"Nooo! It's a misunderstanding Anesan!"

"Come back and die, perverted rat!"

"Help me, Mutsumi-neesan!"

Mutsumi giggled and then all of a sudden, she fell over in a dead faint. Naru terminated her planned attack on Kamo and ran over. "Oh god, Mutsumi? Don't die here!"

"Mmm? Oh, I'm sorry Narusegawa-san, I must have passed out," said Mutsumi.

'How could she called it passing out? She was clinically dead for three minutes!' Thought Naru but she shook her head. "Look, you need to rest. Kamo, make yourself useful and get some water."

Kamo marched off, carrying the sack for water in his mouth as Naru turned to support Mutsumi's head on her lap. "Honestly, you worry me too much," said Naru.

"I'm sorry Narusegawa-san, I just have poor health," said Mutsumi, yawning.

"Call me Naru," said Naru. "We've been together for a while so it's only right."

"Heheheh," giggled Mutsumi. "The moon is so bright tonight."

"I remember staring at the moon as a kid," said Naru softly. "When I was little, my mom and dad said that I liked to watch it. And oddly enough, my first word was Tokyo U."

"Oh? Oh my, what an interesting coincidence!" exclaimed Mutsumi. "Fifteen years ago as well, something happened to me as well."

"Hmm?"

"I was very young and I don't even remember where it was, but I made a promise with someone. That one day, we would meet once more, at Tokyo U. Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"A... promise?"

"_All right... do you think it's strange if I'm headed to Tokyo U for a reason? The reason being that say I made a promise with a girl fifteen years ago to go there... would that girl, I dunno, remember?"_

"It can't be..." whispered Naru. "It just can't be!"

"Hmm? Something the matter Naru-san?"

"Mutsumi! I think I know who the person you made the promise to was!" exclaimed Naru. "It's a long shot but there's this really stupid guy I know and he's trying for Tokyo U for the same reason; a promise with someone fifteen years ago!"

"Oh really?" gasped Mutsumi. She clasped her hands together. "Please, tell me!"

"His name is..."

"ANESAN!"

"Eh?" said Naru, looking at Kamo who was with a group of tanned kids.

"The island's inhabited!" Exclaimed Kamo who was wrestling to get free of the island kids grasp.

"Oh! Everyone!" Mutsumi got up abruptly and laughed. "I thought I recognized this place! This is my back yard!"

"GEH!" Exclaimed Naru.

* * *

"Sorry to see you off so soon, Naru-san," said Mutsumi. "Have a good trip!"

"You too," said Naru as Kamo waved from her shoulder.

"Oh, hold on Naru-san..." said Mutsumi as she walked up close.

"Eh? What's up?" asked Naru.

Mutsumi looked at her intently, took her glasses off and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"ACK! What was that!" exclaimed Naru.

"Oh I'm sorry, I tend to kiss people I like."

"Um, yeah," said Naru. "Well, I'm off!"

"Good trip to you!"

As the ferry pulled into the Kyoto Harbour a few hours later, Naru sighed. "Well, we're back to where we started, huh Kamo-kun?"

"I suppose so, Anesan," said Kamo as he took a long drag of his cigarette. "Although, I think it was enlightening. Say, question. What were you talking to Mutsumi-neesan about anyhow?"

"Eh... ?" Naru paled in shock. "Oh no! I forgot to tell her about it before we left! Augh, dummy, dummy, dummy!"

Sighing and massaging the sore part of her head, Naru headed off the Harbour dock as she turned onto the streets. "Now what do I do?" she moaned.

"You could start by coming home," remarked Kitsune, waving from a nearby stand of clams and lobsters. Naru fell over in shock as Motoko sat beside her, eating a much smaller portion than Kitsune. "Yo, girl."

"Dwa! Kitsune? Motoko? What are you two doing here?"

"We were about to go to Okinawa to look for you, silly girl," said Kitsune. "C'mon over and have a drink before we head back home."

"But... I can't go back yet, I haven't seen Kyoto!" protested Naru.

"Meh," said Kitsune. "Not much to see. Some people here and there, Theater City, all that jazz. C'mon, everyone's waiting for you back home! We had a killer party for you when you got back. It would be a shame to waste it on normal drinking days, wouldn't it?"

"Naru, please come home," said Motoko, coughing into her fist. "I... can't support Kitsune's habit much longer."

Naru laughed for a good long while, even till they got back to the Shinkansen.

* * *

"Hinata Girls Dorm," said Haruka, picking up the phone in the lobby.

"_Aunt Haruka! It's your nephew, Keitaro._"

"Don't call me aunt," snapped Haruka. "So, Keitaro. How did your examinations go?"

"_Not very well, Haruka-san. I failed again this year._"

"Mmmm," Haruka allowed. "So, you're a third year Ronin then. How about your class? Are they all right?"

"_They did great for their exams! Second out of the whole second year of junior high!_"

"That's great news then," said Haruka. "You must really love teaching these girls."

"_Yeah, I do. They're just a fun bunch of PHRRGH!_" There was a sound of a scuffle and a clamor of voices before Keitaro came back onto the line. "_In any case, is it possible to come for a visit and bring some of my class with me? Not all of us, but some of them want to come for a visit to the hot springs._"

"How many are we looking at?" asked Haruka.

"_Lets see, there's the Baka Rangers so that makes five, the Library Exploration Team which makes up four and a newcomer that the Headmaster insisted on sending with us, Sakurazaki Setsuna so including myself, that's ten people. Are there enough rooms for all of us or do we need to pool?_"

"There are a lot of rooms in the Dorm," said Haruka. "Don't worry. Are you actually going to pay for this though? This is more of a field trip than a visit."

"_The headmaster has allotted some of the field trip money to this trip. Apparently 2-A's last trip didn't fly so there was a lot left over this time around. I'll also be teaching them during their 3-A year as a full time teacher. So which means I'm probably going to take it easy and I won't study till my brain melts for next year's testing._"

"Good luck with that. When are you arriving?"

"_Tomorrow. We'll set out at eight and should be there by ten. And then we'll get the girls settled in and declare it a vacation. Speaking of which, how's Naru-san doing? Did she get into Tokyo U?_"

"Well, Naru..." There was a click and Haruka checked the phone connection. "Huh. He must have run out of time on his phone card."

"Naru Naru Naru Naru Naru!" cried Su as she ran up and jumped onto Naru's back. Shinobu and Negi were close behind.

"Welcome back, Narusegawa-san!" exclaimed Negi happily. "And Kamo-kun! I was wondering where you got to!"

"It's good to be home," said Naru. "And I'm back earlier than expected too."

"Welcome home," said Haruka as she walked out of the dorm. "So, what kind of plans do you have now?"

"Honestly? I don't know," said Naru. "But... maybe I'll try again. After all, if Mutsumi can do it for a promise, I can try once more."

"Yay! Naru's back! And so is Motoko and Kitsune! It's party time!" cheered Su.

"Oh, the food's in the fridge, I'll go warm it!" added Shinobu. "Negi-san, please go get the things from the empty room please!"

"Leave it to me!" Exclaimed Negi as he jumped onto his staff and soared up to the third level.

"Since when did he fly?" wondered Kitsune for a moment. Negi soon returned with a gust of wind and an armful of supplies.

"Here it is!" Exclaimed Negi, coming down with a huge cloud of dirt. "I brought... ah... ah... ACHOOO!"

Naru barely had time to blink as the force of Negi's magically backed sneeze blew her blouse and skirt off, leaving her draped in her panties and bra. Negi gasped and clasped his hands to his nose in shock. "Um..."

"You... LITTLE PERVERTED FREAK!"

"AIYEEE! I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TOO!"

"COME BACK HERE AND DIE PROPERLY!"

"NOOOO! ACHOOOOO!"

"MOTOKO SLASH!"

There was an explosion as Negi was sent soaring and Haruka grinned as she lit Kamo's cigarette with her own. "And life goes back to normal," she remarked. "Now I wonder what will happen when Keitaro comes for his vacation here?"


	5. Chapter 4 : A Sudden Pinch? The Attack

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima is owned and created by Ken Akamatsu. All characters are used for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 4 : A Sudden Pinch? The Attack Of Eastern Magi!

* * *

"The Third day of vacation," exclaimed Keitaro, stretching out. "Good morning everyone!"

"GOOD MORNING!" Shouted Su and Sarah, appearing out of nowhere and kicking him into the back of his head. Keitaro "GAH!"ed and fell into Naru's chest.

"AND GOOD MORNING TO YOU TOO!" Exclaimed Naru, punching him away.

"Vile desecrator!" Finished Motoko, adding her own morning welcome.

Negi grinned but Asuna bonked him on the head. "Hey, Negi-bozu, don't think you got away for doing the same thing this morning," she snapped.

"Yes Asuna-san," said Negi, rubbing his head. He too had gotten a morning kick and he had fallen into Konoka's chest and gotten punched away and Setsuna came to her defence with a similar sword-based attack.

"Bastard," snapped Motoko as she stood threateningly over Keitaro. "Remember you are merely a visitor here. If you continue to harass the women here, you will not be welcome, even if I must use force."

"Yes ma'am." said Keitaro timidly. "Say, where's Seta?"

"Papa ran off this morning to Osaka," said Sarah, a bit put off. "He left me here for a little while."

"Geh? What kind of guy is he?" demanded Keitaro.

"Meh, I'm getting used to it," said Sarah.

"Ooooh, poor Sarah!" Exclaimed Shinobu, grabbing her into a hug.

"Argh, lemme go!" exclaimed Sarah, arms waving.

"A pity, I was hoping for lessons," said Keitaro. "Well, breakfast looks good actually!"

"Fu fu fu, if you want to, I can teach you, Keitaro-sensei," said Kaede. "Everything is training."

Keitaro laughed and his chopsticks hit ceramic. Keitaro blinked twice and looked at his now empty rice bowl. "HUH? When did...?"

Kaede merely smiled and held up the last of the rice and ate it. "Training is everything," said Kaede and Keitaro spiked in shock as she ate his fish and attacked his pickles.

"NOOO!" Exclaimed Keitaro, frantically attacking his own food as Kaede casually slipped under his flailing chopsticks and ate his last pickle. "Uggh... my food..."

"Training," repeated Kaede, waggling her chopsticks in a vaguely threatening manner to Keitaro's food that had been refilled by Shinobu. "So sensei, are you up to it?"

Keitaro laughed and stabbed his pickles. "Yes Kaede-sensei."

* * *

"Um, so why am I here?" asked Setsuna. She was dressed in one of Motoko's smaller hakamas as she stood with her sword in one hand. Kaede had merely opted for casual clothing, a pair of formfitting jeans that had no top button and hung low on her hips and a t-shirt that read "Overclocked". Keitaro stood to the side, looking a bit more nervous as he was dressed in casual pants and a hooded shirt to keep the chill of the morning air off.

"Fu fu fu, Keitaro-sensei needs to learn how to deal with sword users," said Kaede.

"Go Sechan!" Shouted Konoka from the sidelines and Kitsune raised a beer in salute. "Aim for the legs!"

"Wow, that sword looks like it could cut Keitaro in half," observed Negi.

"Be careful Aniki, I think Kaede-neesan is going to do something crazy with you as well," said Kamo.

"Here you go," said Su cheerfully, pressing a baseball bat into Keitaro's hands.

"Eh? Wait, she's got a sword! What is THIS supposed to do?" demanded Keitaro.

"Go sensei!" cheered Asuna. "You can do it!"

"Ready sensei?" said Kaede and without warning, stepped aside. "Fight!"

At the word go, Setsuna sprang forth, drawing her incredibly long nodachi as she swung into an overhead strike. There was a scream from Keitaro and a crunching sound and everyone stared in shock as the remains of the baseball bat fell to the ground.

"He..." stammered Motoko who had deemed to watch the fight.

Keitaro stood there, one knee planted on the ground, both hands up in a bare-handed catch. The blade shimmered in the light and Setsuna stared in absolute shock.

"He saw her strike!" Whooped Kitsune.

"OH YEAH, THE SENSEI IS BADASS!" Added Kamo, sticking a middle finger up in the air.

"I WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT!" Shouted Motoko, storming into the field of battle. "You stopped the blade of a Shinmei Ryu warrior? I cannot... no, I WILL NOT accept this!"

"Er, it's a once in a lifetime thing," said Keitaro as Tama-chan landed on his head.

"Myuh," added Tama-chan.

"HOW DARE YOU MAKE A MOCKERY OF THE SHINMEI RYU STYLE!"

"EEEEEEEEK!"

The sword came down faster than coherent thought and the wind blew as Motoko's eyes widened in shock. "Wha...?"

"Myuh!" Exclaimed Tama-chan happily as she held the sword in place with both front flippers.

"KYAAAAAH! TAMA-CHAN IS AMAZING!" Cheered the girls as they danced around, throwing Tama-chan into the air as Keitaro stood, slack jawed in shock.

"Hmm, so Turtles do dabble in high level sword reception techniques," said Kaede with a smile.

Motoko sagged to the ground in incoherent shock. "How... all my training... the name of the school, all for naught? How... could this happen?"

"Sempai?" asked Setsuna as Motoko managed to rise to her feet and grasped a traveling bag she hid somewhere.

"I... I cannot be your sempai anymore," said Motoko. "Sakurazaki Setsuna, you are the... new heir to the Shinmei Ryu."

"GAH? MOTOKO-SEMPAI!"

With a choked sob, Motoko ran from the grounds.

"Motoko!" Shouted Naru. She turned to Keitaro and struck him. "You idiot, go after her!"

"Huh? What did I do?" asked Keitaro, feeling the blood spurting from his head.

"You made her cry! You and that turtle of yours!"

"Keitaro!" Keitaro looked up as Negi zoomed up, hovering on his staff. "Get on. We'll be back with her, don't worry everyone." With that, the pair took off with Keitaro hanging on for dear life.

Kaede raised an eyebrow and simply vanished from sight.

* * *

"See her?" asked Negi as Keitaro perched on top of the tree.

"No, I don't," sighed Keitaro. "I don't get it. It was a sheer fluke that I caught Setsuna's blade but when Motoko-san freaked like that, I didn't think she'd come after me as well."

"I think it's also a point that her sword was stopped by Tama-chan," said Negi.

"Myuh?" asked Tama-chan.

"It's okay, Tama-chan, you did what you did," said Keitaro. Getting back onto Negi's staff, the pair rode off towards the east. "How far do you think she went before stopping for the night?" asked Keitaro, shielding his eyes as they stared off into the sun.

"We've been out here all day," said Negi. "I'm sure that someone like Motoko-san could hide her presence rather well. It is getting late."

Keitaro sighed. "Why can't life be normal around us?"

Negi chuckled as he pulled lower to the trees. "Keep an eye out for smoke. That usually means she's probably found a place to camp for the night."

"Right."

As the sun started to dip lower and lower, the pair kept searching for the runaway Kendo-ka.

* * *

"I'm going to find Motoko-sempai," said Setsuna as she stood up. "Negi-san and Keitaro-sensei have not returned yet and I am worried about her."

"Wait, Sechan, it's getting dark," protested Konoka. "I'm sure they'll be back sooner or later."

"Ojousama... I must go. I'm sorry." With that, Setsuna ran out into the weaning sunlight.

"I hope she'll be okay," said Konoka and Asuna clasped a hand onto her shoulder and squeezed a bit.

"I'm sure Sakurazaki-san will be fine," said Asuna. "C'mon, lets get inside."

"Right."

As the pair headed back into the inn, Asuna felt a shiver go up her spine. Turning around briefly and seeing nothing, she followed the other girl indoors. Unseen to the pair, a pair of glowing eyes watched them and then flitted away into the darkness.

* * *

With a dull ka-chunk, Keitaro retrieved the cans from the vending machine and tossed it back and forth as the warmed can made his hands burn. "Yow, careful, it's hot," he said, tossing the can of coffee at Negi.

Negi caught it and tossed it around in his hands before wrapping one hand in his long sleeved shirt. Popping the top of the hot coffee, Negi took a slow sip in order to keep from burning his mouth. "We should be getting back," said Negi. "And then head out during first light."

"No, I think that's not going to be wise," said Keitaro with a shake of his head. "It took us the better portion of the day to get here. We must be halfway to Kansai by now. We should find a hotel somewhere. I have some savings with me."

A snap of a dry twig alerted the pair and Negi whirled with his staff outstretched. "Yo," greeted Kaede lazily.

"K-Kaede-san!" Exclaimed Negi.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Keitaro curiously.

"I thought you two needed help, so I've been at the bottom of the trees, searching the ground," said Kaede with a smile. "She's not anywhere within a fifty meter radius, so I'm thinking she must have hopped a train near the closest town."

"Great," sighed Keitaro. "What a mess this day has turned out to be."

"You two want supper?" asked Kaede and their stomachs roared in unison.

A few minutes later, the trio sat around a campfire, nibbling on fish that Kaede had caught and cleaned out. "I never expected you did this often." said Keitaro. "I was wondering where you got to during the weekends."

"Mmm," said Kaede, nodding as she ate her own roasted mushroom and nibbled on the roasted fish. "Out in nature is where I feel comfortable usually. Just to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life, it's quiet and you can see the stars above."

"So Kaede-san, are you some kind of Ninja?" asked Negi curiously and Keitaro coughed in surprise.

"A ninja? Of course not, there's no such things as ninjas," said Kaede with a smile.

Keitaro coughed something along the lines of "Yeah Right" before busying himself with his fish.

"Motoko-san really seemed depressed," said Negi as he finished his own fish. "It must be hard, being the heir to the Shinmei Ryu."

"Mm," said Kaede. "Motoko-han is something of an interesting person. One may say that she is an unfeminine woman but she has the grace and poise of many girls envy. Her skills with the sword however are ever growing and I suspect she is trying to hone the skill somewhere in this area."

"Some kind of super ninja technique?" Negi teased and Kaede giggled softly.

"Maybe," she said cryptically. "I made up some leaf beds for us. Not completely comfortable but enough to keep our backs from giving out the next day."

* * *

"Evil Cutting Blade, Second Form!"

The bolt of spiritual power flared out and struck the rock that stood at the other side of the clearing. The rock had a straw dummy strapped to it as Motoko panted. With a crack, the boulder splintered and the dummy burst into a hail of straw. "Not yet... I..." Motoko struck the ground angrily as tears fell to the ground. "Why? Why can't I get it right? Was Aneue right? Is the sword... not just my life? ARGH!" Motoko hit the ground once more, cracking the earth below her. "Tell me Aneue! Tell ME!"

Nothing but silence greeted Motoko as she curled up and cried herself to sleep.

The next thing that Motoko felt was the sensation of heat on one side, cold on the other. Opening her eyes, Motoko found herself sleeping on her side, her bag propped up as a pillow under her head. Across the way, Setsuna sat cross-legged, her sword propped up in her arms as she watched her from the other side of the small campfire. "Sempai," greeted Setsuna as Motoko pushed herself upright.

"Don't call me that," whispered Motoko. "I don't have the right to be called your sempai, or the heir."

"That's not true, Motoko-sempai," said Setsuna, a sharp edge to her tone. Shifting to a more comfortable position, Setsuna took a deep breath and said, "When I was a child, I grew up isolated and alone. The Shinmei Ryu school brought me in, even though I was the daughter of a human woman and a man of the bird tribe of Oni. Many of them, looked down on me, belittled me; saying that I was a mere half-breed that was unworthy to become part of the school. I tried many times to win approval, and then, one day, when my sorrow was at the lowest, you helped me."

Setsuna looked up to meet Motoko's gaze. "You, the heir of the school, the younger daughter of the strongest Swordswoman known to date, you, Motoko Aoyama came to me and said, 'Aneue said you are a nice girl. I don't like seeing you sad. Do... you want to be friends?' And from that point on, I decided to try harder."

"I was barely five," said Motoko. "I remember. Everyone teased you, the kids would call you named like freak and half-breed, and the adults did not care for you like myself and Aneue."

"The adults were furious that someone like me befriended the heir, the bloodline of the strongest of the Shinmei Ryu. So I was sent to protect Konoka-ojousama. We were close as children, and then when I followed her to Mahora Academy a year later, I had resigned myself to protect her from the shadows."

"I see," said Motoko.

"Motoko-sempai, you deserve the title more than I do. I'm just a half-breed who doesn't deserve it."

"No," said Motoko, drawing a startled glance from Setsuna. "I will receive it when I am ready. You are stronger than you look, Setsuna, able to put up with the looks and names of the more cruel of our school. I admit that I am not perfect, but that is something I would like to achieve. My sister told me once though, that the sword is nothing all what matters. Somehow, now, I may be able to put that into perspective."

Motoko bowed her head and blushing a bit, said, "Setsuna-sempai, will you help this lost Ronin find her way back home?"

Setsuna blushed and bowed deeply. "Motoko-sempai, I only wish the same from you. Let us work together."

For the first time, Motoko was able to smile once more.

* * *

"This way," said Kaede as she darted across the ground, nimbly running across the rocky terrain as Negi and Keitaro flew behind her. "I can feel the wind. It is saying that there has been live steel in this direction."

"Not a ninja girl my ass," muttered Keitaro into Negi's ear and Negi bit back a chuckle.

Rounding a grove of trees, Kaede came to a halt and the pair landed close behind. "Did you find them?" asked Negi and then pulled up short.

Lying next to a campfire that was on its last embers were Motoko and Setsuna, cuddled up for body heat. "Aaaah, that's so cute!" Exclaimed Negi as the girls stirred from slumber.

"Mm? Sensei! Negi-san, Kaede-san! What are you three doing here?" asked Setsuna, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"We were worried so we came looking for you," said Keitaro as he looked around the ruined training ground. Many trees and rocks were felled around the area, a sign of either heavy training or a tiring battle. "Are you two all right?"

"Yes, we're just tired from training all night," said Motoko as she got up from were she lay. "Bastard, er, I mean, Keitaro, I'm sorry for attacking you."

"Ah, no damage done," said Keitaro and Tama-chan Myuhed from his shoulder. "So, are you two ready to come home now? We're a day and a half out from Hinata City."

"No, not just yet," said Motoko. "Setsuna-sempai has been teaching me."

"Eh? Since when did Setsuna-san become your elder, Motoko-san?" asked Negi. Kaede cocked her head in curiosity as well.

"There were many things I needed to learn still," said Motoko. "You see, there was a strike that my older sister taught me, but I never mastered. Maybe today, we will be able to do it."

Setsuna smiled. "It is called the Evil Cutting Blade, Second Form. To protect the innocents that may be in a battle, the Shinmei Ryu developed this attack in order to quell the aggressor without damaging the person in front of them who could be used as a shield. If you would be so kind, Keitaro-sensei, we could use your assistance."

A moment later, Keitaro cried out, "Is this the meaning of assistance!" as Negi and Kaede cheerfully tied him to a rock overlooking the small waterfall.

"You can survive this easily," pointed out Kaede with a smile.

"Now, prepare yourself, Urashima!" exclaimed Motoko as she aimed her weapon at him. "My weapon is ready, and my success rate is growing!"

"WAAAAH! I don't like the sound of that!"

"EVIL CUTTING BLADE, SECOND FORM!"

The blast of chi arced out and Negi and Tama-chan jumped away in a panic as Kaede simply seemed to slide to the right. The attack impacted and there was a slicing sound. As the blade of chi dissipated into the waterfall, Keitaro's glasses suddenly exploded outwards as the rock fell apart in two neat pieces.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa... I thought I was going to diiiiie," moaned Keitaro, slumping to the ground.

"YAY!" Exclaimed Negi happily. "Motoko-san you did it!"

"Sempai," said Setsuna with a brilliant smile. "You did it."

"Yes... thanks to all of you." Said Motoko as she grabbed the others and laughed.

* * *

"Wow, this was something of an adventure," said Negi with a laugh as they soared overhead. With five people, it was a bit more slow going, but they were in no rush to get back home. "To think we came so far. It's going to be another day or so before we get back."

"I think it's good at least, that we're not hurrying," said Keitaro. "I'm sure the girls are happy to be in a man-free zone for a day or so!"

"Yeah. Hey, what's that?" said Keitaro as they slowed to a stop. A black object seemed to be moving at a rapid rate towards them.

Setsuna stopped and shaded her eyes. And then, she gaped. "It's a missile!"

"WHAT!" Screamed Keitaro and Negi as the black missile with an eye stuck onto the top plowed into the pair, sending them plummeting to earth. There was a flash of movement and Kaede caught Negi and Keitaro crashed to the ground.

"Keitaro! Are you all right?" called out Negi as Kaede leapt to the ground.

Motoko walked over and pulled the missile free of Keitaro's head where it gushed some blood like a fountain. "It is a message pod," she said, pressing a button on the side. A screen opened up and there was a picture of Su as there was numerous explosions in the background.

"_Everyone! Some weird people stormed in and kidnapped some of the girls! Naru-yan and the others are chasing them but they're headed for Kyoto!" Su ducked and there was a tremendous explosion. "Launching now! Get to Kyoto_!"

In a burst of static, the recorded image ended.

"Kyoto," said Setsuna. "We're already in the direction. How much further to the nearest Shinkansen platform?"

Kaede looked around and pointed. "That way, about three miles. There's a town where you can hop a ride."

"Someone attacking the Hinata House?" asked Keitaro. "Why would they head to Kyoto though?"

"I can only think of one thing," said Setsuna, her expression grim. "Someone has kidnapped Konoka-ojousama."

"Eh? But why her?" asked Negi.

"Konoka-san is the daughter of the head of the Kansai Magical Association." said Motoko. "In her blood lies incredible untapped power, possibly greater than the Thousand Master's. We need to hurry, there's no time to check on the others at Hinata House."

"But we can't leave anyone injured there!" Protested Keitaro. "Shouldn't we call someone to check on them?"

"You're right," said Motoko. "But I doubt anyone brought a cell phone with them."

"I did," said Kaede as she fished out a flip phone. "What's the number of Haruka-san's teahouse?"

* * *

"Lower Hinata Tea House," said Haruka, picking up the phone.

_"Haruka-san, we just received Su's message pod. What happened? Is everyone all right?"_

"Most of them are fine," said Haruka as she stirred the potion set before her and then dipped a teacup into the liquid. "Some of them got caught in a petrifaction attack but I have some potions to cure that. Seta arrived to help drive them back but they took Konoka and grabbed also Shinobu, Nodoka and Haruka in the process. I think some of them aren't exactly smart enough to notice who is who in a dust cloud anyhow."

_"Where is everyone right now?"_

"I'm just curing Kitsune now," said Haruka, pouring the potion onto Kitsune's head. "The ones still here are Yue, Kitsune, Makie, Ku Fei and myself. Seta took Asuna, Naru, Su, Sarah and Kamo in order to catch up. You'll have to jump a Shinkansen to Kyoto and then head towards the Kansai Magical Association to rescue the girls still in their clutches."

"_All right. Keep an eye on them, Aunt Haruka. We'll be back as soon as possible with the girls."_

As the phone line cut, Haruka sighed. "Don't call me Aunt."

* * *

"We need to hurry and catch up with the Shinkansen," said Negi as they flew at top speed towards the nearest town. Setsuna, Motoko and Kaede took to the tree branches and were running along at a steady clipped pace. "What would they want to do with the power of Konoka anyhow?"

"Anything ranging from summoning a high level demon to even using her power to conquer the Kanto Magical Association." Said Motoko as she leapt to another tree branch. "The Shinmei Ryu are designed to combat this sort of uprising, but this is the first time that these mages have acted so openly since the Great War. We can only stand to assume they know what to do, because the grounds of Hinata House and the area around it is highly magical. There's enough magic there to place even the most unbreakable spells onto it for a hundred years or more."

"Right. Keep your eyes peeled. I'm sorry you were dragged into this, Keitaro-san," said Negi.

"Naw, it's okay. I have Konoka in my class. It's best it happens now than later on without any reinforcements," said Keitaro. His tone was calm but his expression was dark and angry. "We'll catch up, we have to."

"There!" Called out Kaede as they burst out of the trees and reached a train track. In the distance was the Shinkansen which was zooming along. "It's too fast, we'll have to get on it while it's moving."

"WHAT!" Screamed Keitaro but they were off, running parallel to the tracks once more.

Kaede was the first one to make the jump as the train slowed just enough to make the curve, followed by Motoko and Setsuna. Negi simply landed on the top of the train and the pair clambered down onto the back of the train. With a single slice, Setsuna slashed open the door and there was a whistle of escaping pressure as they swung inside. "Oh god, I thought I would die for sure," gasped Keitaro. "And you three! What was that, jumping onto a nearly 200 Kilometer Per Hour moving train!"

"Focus," warned Motoko. Peering around, she nodded. "Looks like this is a normal train. Let us rest until we reach Kyoto."

With a sigh, Negi slumped to the ground. "Right. Like today couldn't get any worse."

* * *

"It's a nice day for a drive," said Seta as he calmly weaved in and out of traffic. The others in the van were not too enthusiastic about this proclamation as Seta liked to drive like a maniac.

"We're gonna DIIIIIIIE!" wailed Asuna as the van popped onto two wheels and slid in between an oncoming pair of semi trucks. "Who decided to take the van!"

The van landed on both wheels with a jump as they careened over a cliff and righted itself on a lower part of the road, cutting off several vehicles at the same time. "I see them!" exclaimed Su as she pointed towards several figures running out of a train station in the distance. Four girls were slung over their shoulders and Seta smiled grimly.

"Theatre Village," said Seta. "It's a good place to hide because it's out of the way and anything odd is passed off as a movie production or an act. Hang on, I'm about to make a grand entrance!"

"We're gonna DIIIIIIIIE!" wailed Asuna once more as the van leapt over the curb in a tight spinning motion and with a bone-jarring thud, landed neatly in a parking spot. The hood popped and the radiator hissed but other than that, the van survived intact.

Kicking the door open, Seta leapt out, followed by Su and Sarah who were grinning widely. Naru stumbled out of the van, as with Asuna. Kamo made no pretence to hide his illness and threw up in the bushes.

Wiping his face, Kamo scampered up to Asuna's shoulder. "Where did they go?"

"Hmmm... if I know them, they'll be hiding out as part of a production to make their way to a more defensible area," said Seta. "Girls, I hate to ask this of you but you have to follow my lead."

"Right, we'll do it to save them!" cheered Naru and the girls pumped their hands into the air with a resounding "YEAH!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Naru looked at her costume and made an "Urgh, this isn't what I expected mind you."

"Aw, I think it looks cute," said Asuna as she checked out her own reflection. Asuna was dressed a gi and hakama similar to what Motoko wore but with more embroidery on the sides and the pants were a deep rich violet with the top was a stitched pink. Hanging on her side was a reversed blade sword and her hair was tied back in a ponytail with her bangs all mussed up. The sword was the only real dangerous thing on her as it was marked with a Su brand label and was guaranteed by Su to cut through twelve inch battleship steel. The open hakama showed that Asuna had to bind her breasts and while letting her chest wrappings display how small she was, it was a bit of an amusement point on who she was dressed as.

"I didn't think Theatre Village put out Anime-based costumes," remarked Naru as she examined her reflection. Dressed in loose pants with a tight black top and a shoulder guard that had a lion's head on it, Naru hefted her Su brand giant buster sword. Her own hair was tied back and then mussed up into a style that had spikes sticking out. Kamo sat on her shoulder dressed as a miniature Red XIII. "We're in cosplay city, not Theatre Village," moaned Naru.

"Aw you look cute as Cloud Strife," said Asuna with a grin.

"Are you two done yet?" Cried Su as she kicked Asuna in the head. Su herself was dressed in the Akira Toriyama version of Son Goku, complete with her blonde hair messed up into Super Sayajin spikes as she proudly displayed the log of Kame on the back and the front. Hideously loud orange was the theme for her and Su was jumping around like she was a monkey tailed alien as well. Sarah then emerged from the dressing room, proudly bearing the fact that she was now dressed in forest green with a cap and tights. On her back was slung a blue hilted sword and shield, also Su make.

Naru giggled. "Son Goku of Dragonball Z and Young Link of Majora's Mask?"

"Stick with the classics," quipped Sarah. "My Master Sword is old school!" To prove a point, she drew it and fired a bolt of energy from the blade, shattering a wall into splinters. "I have a full Link Arsenal too!"

Asuna's eyebrow twitched in disbelief. "When did you get the chance to MAKE any of this, Su?"

"It's easy for a super genius like myself!" Cackled Su.

"Oh, are you girls done yet?" asked Seta, sticking his head in. "Ah good."

"Wow," said Asuna, swallowing. Seta had managed to find the time to shave and he was dressed in a set of robes that seemed both ornamental and functional. At his side hung a haft of wood and Seta smiled, bowing. "You, um, you make a very nice looking Katsuhito Masaki, Seta-san." Stammered Asuna, bright red.

"Good! I was hoping I could pull it off," said Seta. "Come now. We need to siege the castle where the lovely ladies are being held."

* * *

"You IDIOTS!" Shouted the shapely woman. "I said Konoka-ojousama, not Konoka-ojousama and three little girls!"

"But boss, they look the same in the dust," protested one of the Oni. The captive girls looked at each other in disbelief. With the faint resemblance between Nodoka and Shinobu and the long hair of Haruna and Konoka, it was a wonder that they managed to grab Konoka.

"RRRRRRGH," snarled Chigusa. "Well at least you got Konoka-ojousama. But hold onto those little girls. We may need to use them as bait."

"What the hell are you talking about with us being bait?" Snapped Haruna angrily. "Just who are you anyway?"

"Oh? You don't know? Well, I'll just let you in on a little secret. Little Konoka-ojousama here has vast untapped magical potential and we want that for our purposes. You see, you scum from the west took everything from the East and I don't like that. In fact, I think it's a good thing that you'll probably all be sacrificed to our purposes. How does that sound?"

"You're mad, lady," said Haruna.

"Am I? Well, I may be a bit unstable. But that makes things more fun."

As Chigusa walked away, the Oni dropped the girls onto their backsides and left them tied up. Shinobu sighed and said, "So... this is new."

"We can't just let this woman do what she wants!" Exclaimed Haruna. "Konoka, they said you have magic, right?"

"Um... yes?"

Haruna gaped at her and Nodoka made a squeak of surprise. "You... you mean you DON'T KNOW!"

"No, not really," said Konoka. "Daddy never said anything like this before. I didn't even know I was in danger until yesterday."

"Oh this is PERFECT!" Haruna laughed ironically. "It's like out of a manga. So... any idea on how to get out of this?"

"Well, if Konoka is magical, couldn't we do a pactio?" asked Shinobu and the girls blinked.

"A pactio?" asked Nodoka.

"I don't know if it will work, but Su made a pactio with Negi-san. It's sort of a way to bind a wizard and a protective partner together in order to form a combat team. If that crazy lady says Konoka is magical, then maybe..."

"Hmmm... any benefits from this?" asked Haruna.

"Su got a giant gun."

"Point. All right, try it out!"

Shinobu blushed as she scooted over to Konoka. "Um, this is going to be a little weird... after all..."

"Shinobu-san?" asked Nodoka.

"I need... to kiss Konoka-chan in order to activate it," said Shinobu and Haruka and Nodoka fell to the ground in shock.

"WHAT! What kind of crazy thing is that?" demanded Haruna.

"It's better than sitting here and swapping blood!" protested Shinobu.

Konoka blushed heavily. "Well, actually, it doesn't sound so bad."

"Gwa..." chorused Nodoka and Haruna, leaning to the side with large wide eyes.

"Right... Well, here we go..."

Shinobu leaned in and Konoka leaned forward. Their lips were centimetres away when someone cleared their throat. "Forgive me for interrupting the love fest you two, but shouldn't you concern yourself with getting out of here?"

The pair of girls jumped as they looked over to see Asuna grinning at them from the window. "Hey."

"Asuna-san!" Exclaimed Nodoka. Asuna grinned, leapt into the room and drew her sword.

"Hold still you guys," said Asuna, severing their bonds. Helping the girls to their feet, Asuna gestured towards the door. "C'mon, Seta-san and the others should be making a distraction right about now."

With a thunderous boom, the foundations rocked.

* * *

Naru's sword cleaved through the nearest Oni as she wielded it like it was a piece of paper. Inwardly she marvelled at the construction of the weapon as she spun on the next few Oni. When Sarah had dropped a few Bomchuu's onto a suicide run into the castle, what Seta called Oni poured out of the castle. Many people still stood around watching what appeared to be a random play or act. Spinning the sword in the way Su showed her and stowing it on her back, the gemstones imbedded in the weapon glowed as she thrust out her hands. "THUNDER!"

On the sword, a small antenna rose and there was a thunderous crack of lightning that blasted straight through her gauntlets. It wasn't magic, not by a long shot but Su did the best she could. For a moment, Naru could have sworn there was a number value popping up above various Oni head when they scythed through them with weapons and "magic".

Sarah was in a brawl with a pair of giant moblin-like bruisers. The smaller girl at first seemed outmatched but clearly she could handle herself from the years of living with Seta. Ducking and rolling behind one, Sarah slashed upwards and kicked out, knocking the Oni into the other one. Aiming her sword, she blasted bolts of energy that sent them back to where ever they came from with explosive force. Pulling out a boomerang from her seemingly endless pouch, Sarah yelled "DOWN!" And hurled it.

Naru ducked as the boomerang arced overhead, smacking five at a time and ricocheting around heads and stunning many. They were then easily dispatched by Su who had taken to abusing her "Sayajin Powers" with attacks taken from all points of any of the anime. Su definitely enjoyed the fight as demonstrated by her over use of flight and "ki" attacks. Seta of course, easily handled anyone, taking to almost cheerfully ducking and weaving around, the blue blade of the faux "Tenchiken" cleaving in glowing arcs.

"This reminds me of the time when Haruka stumbled upon the brass demon horde of nineteen eighty seven," said Seta, easily dispatching two more Oni. "Forty, no, maybe fifty brass demons from the ancient times, at least ciria 2000 BC. It was me, Haruka, Tara and Nagi. Wow, that was fun actually. Nagi sort of looks at me and says 'I'll take the ugly one' which was funny because they were all ugly. But he then holds up his hand and what does he do? He Magic Archer's them for a hundred bursts. He had barely ANY spells under his belt but he manages to take out fifteen of them. Tara now she was a juggernaut and knocked off more than Haruka and I did.'

"Nice time for a history lesson!" Snapped Naru. "Augh, get off!"

Sarah pulled out several bombs and hurled them into the crowd of Oni. More came to fill the spots and she sighed. "Man, they keep coming. We could use some help from here."

"Rastil Maskil Magister! Twenty Spirits of Light!"

Blinding shots of light rained down onto the Oni, driving huge holes in their ranks as Negi and Keitaro landed on the ground. The crowd cheered at their entrance as Negi laughed and said, "You were right, Keitaro-san. They really think it's a production!"

"Yeah, so lets cut loose here," said Keitaro. A moment later, he was running away from a horde of giant Oni. "AUGH, HELP ME!"

"Evil Cutting Blade, Second Form!" The burst of chi ripped through the Oni, passing harmlessly through Keitaro. Motoko gave Keitaro a look and said, "Stay out of the combat zone, Urashima. If you want to live that is."

"Er, right." said Keitaro, walking to the crowd. Kaede smiled and she sort of vanished into the pack. A group of Oni were then suddenly blasted upwards.

"Shall we, Setsuna-san?" said Motoko as she drew her sword fully once more.

"Yes, Motoko-sempai," said Setsuna, a smile on her face. With a yell, the two Shinmei Ryu swordswomen charged headlong into the fray.

* * *

Asuna's sword flashed as an Oni fell and vanished into mist. "C'mon, this way," said Asuna, leading the pack of girls down the stairs.

Reaching the fourth level on the castle the five girls found themselves in a wide reception room. "Which way?" asked Konoka.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is the end of the line," said Chigusa, sliding out of the darkness. With her were two boys about Negi's age and a girl dressed in a cute pink dress and wide hat. Behind them, a large Oni held a bow and arrow and it was taut with a wicked looking spear-like arrow notched onto it. "Fu fu fu, you didn't expect you could escape now, did you?"

"Geh," said Asuna. "Get to the side, I'll deal with her."

"You? A girl with nothing but a sword? Don't make me laugh. Fate, please take care of them."

The white haired boy walked forward and he started to chant, moving his hands in arcane patterns. Asuna, recognizing the chant that petrified some of the people at the Hinata House, charged with a yell. The boy finished his spell and pointed a finger as a beam of grey magic ripped through the air and it exploded right in front of Asuna. "It is done," said the boy named Fate.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Fate barely had a moment to realize his opponent was still alive as Asuna tore out of the cloud, sans clothing and her sword was pure stone. But with a shout, she ripped through his protective barrier and sent him flying across the room and through a wall. Chigusa threw up a barrier but another slash ripped through her own barrier as Asuna delivered a vicious spinning kick that sent her flying.

"What the hell are you doing you stupid Oni!" demanded Chigusa from the floor. "And you two! Do something!"

The pink clad girl shrugged and said, "I'm just here to deal with any Shinmei Ryu people."

"Meh, I don't fight girls," said the second boy.

"You said not to shoot unless Konoka-ojousama moves. She hasn't moved," said the Oni.

"Idiots, all of you," growled Chigusa. "Fine! RETREAT!"

Shrugging to each other, the pink clad girl and the other boy leapt out the window as Chigusa flew away with the Oni. The white haired boy had vanished from where he had fallen.

"Well that was one of the more interesting rescues I've experienced," quipped Haruna.

* * *

"Well, that settles things," said one of the Oni, suddenly stopping. "We were just sort of hired to slow you guys down but it looks like the woman who called us is fleeing. So later."

The Oni vanished into mist as Asuna and the girls walked out of the room. Asuna had found a discarded kimono robe and wrapped it around herself. "Hey!" called out Shinobu.

"Everyone, you're all right!" Exclaimed Negi as the spectators cheered wildly.

"Konoka-ojousama!" cried Setsuna. "You are not hurt?"

"Of course not, Sechan, you were coming to help me!" said Konoka brightly.

"Ojousama..."

Naru coughed into her hand. "So, we got the girls back. Now what?"

"Well, since we're here, why not we go visit Nagi's old place?" said Seta. "I doubt we'll run into problems later on and I'm sure Negi would like to see where his dad hung his hat while here."

"HUH!" Exclaimed Negi. "You mean...?"

"That's right," said Seta, puffing on a cigarette. "My friend who vanished fifteen years ago, was none other than Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master."

"My... father..." said Negi.

"Well then! Everyone back into the van!" Exclaimed Seta and Naru and Asuna shared dreaded expressions.


	6. Chapter 5 : The Mysterious Idol? Her

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

Chapter 5 : The Mysterious Idol? Her Name Is Chiu!

* * *

"After that crazy adventure, it's good to relax," said Negi as he wiped down the floors of the third floor. Running an arm across his forehead to wipe away the sweat, Negi sighed and looked out the window. "It's so nice today and it smells so fresh after the rainstorm yesterday." 

"Negi!" Negi's head hit the ground as Su jumped on him, accompanied by Sarah. "Hey, what'cha doing manager?"

"Cleaning," said Negi from the floor. "Su, I can't get up."

Su grinned and helped up the younger boy. "I have something that'll help you out!"

"Eh?" asked Negi as Su held out her card. "What? No! Su, it's too big for inside use!"

"Adeat!"

Negi nearly fell over as the giant gun appeared and Su grinned maniacally. "Assistant Sarah, the attachment!"

"Yes, professor Su!" laughed Sarah as she handed what appeared to be a really big rounded brush. Shoving the end into the barrel, Su aimed down the hallway and clicked off the safeties.

"This deck brush has the horsepower of a nuclear weapon!" Cackled Su. "Watch as the Su Cleaning Brush Gun goes to work! FIRE!"

The deck brush burst forth, spinning around at such a high RPM it nearly stripped the paint off the old floorboards. As it stood, the polish was such that the floorboards sparkled. "Victory!" crowed Su as the deck brush scampered around, ricocheting wildly. "Oh no captain! It's out of control, I can't shut down the dilithium crystal generator!"

"NOOOO! The house is going to be destroyed!"

"What the hell's going on up here?" asked Asuna, turning the corner. "ACK!"

Flattening herself against the wall as the deck brush flew out the open window and there was a sound of screaming from the Laundry Deck and the cry of "SU!", Asuna looked out and sweated at the sight of the girls running around in a panic as the runaway deck brush attacked without discretion. "Riiiight. Su, can't you do anything NORMAL?"

"Normal is boring," quipped Su and Sarah nodded.

* * *

Negi looked over the city as he stood on a high building near the center of it. Hinata City was a unique city, filled with hot springs and mostly lower-seated buildings. Heaving a sigh, Negi leaned back onto the roof. "It's not that I don't like everyone, but they're sometimes scary."

Flashing back to the last couple of days, it was clear that many of them could handle themselves. A strange sad ache was in Negi's chest as he watched the clouds go by. 'I'm going to miss everyone when they go back to the academy in a few days.'

A loud banging sound brought Negi to a sitting position as he looked over at the beach. Men in hard hats were setting up a stage and he blinked. "Wonder what's going on. A festival perhaps?"

Jumping onto his staff, Negi silently glided down and landed in a secluded area before proceeding on foot. The men were running around, calling out instructions and moving heavy equipment. "Hey, kid, move out of the way!" called out one of the men and Negi jumped back.

"What's going on here?" asked Negi.

"There's going to be an appearance by Chiu tomorrow," said a teenage boy who stood, watching the men set up the stage and the seating area. "She doesn't make many appearances, but she's the most popular Net Idol in the history of mankind!"

"A Net Idol?" asked Negi.

"Yeah, an Internet Idol. Some girls like to dress up in costumes and become famous on the Internet. It drives up popularity and there is a constant demand for Net Idol appearances because no one knows exactly where they are. When they do come out, it's a really big event. Hinata Beach will be crowded with fans as Chiu is out to perform." The teenager grinned and said, "Hey, a friend of mine isn't going to be able to make it for the Chiu performance so I've got this spare ticket. You wanna go kid?"

"Really? You'll give it to me?"

The teenager laughed. "Sure kid. You look like you need the rest. And a cute girl to watch on stage is always fun, right?"

Negi laughed, though his mind was replaying the events of many cute girl encounters in the last four months. "Thank you!"

"Wow, a real performance! I wonder if it's like anything back home in Wales," said Negi to himself as he ran down the streets. "After a week of adventure, it's going to be great to enjoy myself for once!"

Rounding the corner, Negi suddenly slammed into a girl who let out a yelp as the pair tumbled into the rain gutter with a tremendous splash. "Oww," said Negi and then he gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I...!"

"Urgh," said the girl as she sat up. "It's fine," she snapped, looking into her bags and scowling. "Great. Ruined."

"I'm terribly sorry!" Exclaimed Negi, bowing several times till the girl sighed and stopped him with a palm on his forehead. "I ruined your purchases. Let me make it up to you!"

"No that's fine," repeated the girl. "I'm probably just going to head back home for now. Though it's a waste, coming out here."

"As an English Gentleman I have to repay this," said Negi and the girl looked at him for a long moment. "Please, I feel terrible."

There was a long pause and then the girl said, "Can you get mud and dirt out of a dry-clean only dress?"

"No, but I know someone who can!"

* * *

"Here we are," said Negi as he and the girl reached the top of the stairs.

The girl adjusted her mud-speckled glasses and said, "You live here?"

"I'm actually the manager," said Negi with an embarrassed grin.

"You're a manager of a girls dorm. And you're what, eight?" said the girl incredulously.

"I'm nine and a half!" protested Negi.

"Right. Well, who's this person who can help?"

"Oh, she's probably in the kitchen. C'mon!" Running to the door, Negi stopped short and turned back to her. "Oh, I never did get your name, miss."

"...Hasegawa Chisame."

"Nice to meet you! C'mon in!"

"Anyone home?" called out Negi but received no answer or answering kick to the back of the head. "Hmm... maybe they're all out right now."

"Great. Maybe I'll just find a dry cleaners for 4000 yen." grumbled Chisame.

"No! I insist, I can get it cleaned up even if I have to do it myself!"

A sigh. "Fine."

"Hello? Anyone?"

"Oh, Negi, in here," called out Haruka from the kitchen table. She sat there with legs propped up and reading a newspaper. "Hmm? Who's your new friend?"

"Ah, Haruka-san, this is Hasegawa Chisame. I accidentally ran her down when coming home and I need Shinobu-san's help to dry clean her clothing."

"Well, Shinobu and the Library Exploration Team are out shopping," said Haruka and Chisame twitched. "And Seta popped up while you were gone again and he, Motoko, Setsuna, Kaede and Ku Fei went out for training in the mountains or some kind of excavation and dragged Keitaro with them." Chisame twitched and an eyebrow twitched violently. "And Asuna and Konoka went out for ice cream with Su, Sarah, Naru and Kitsune."

"Something the matter, Hasegawa-san?" asked Negi. "You're trembling."

"No, nothing's the matter," said Chisame but inwardly she was cursing her bad luck. The entire crew of Baka Rangers, the Ronin AND the Library Exploration Team, HERE? Of all places? What were the odds!

'Someone hates me up there,' Chisame thought to herself as Haruka eyed the girl over.

"Hmm... well, get her new clothing and she can also use the hot springs to clean that mud out of her hair too," said Haruka. "I'm sure Kitsune's clothing will fit since she's a bit bigger than Naru is."

"Er, right. Hasegawa-san, the springs are this way."

* * *

Chisame grumbled to herself under her breath as she sunk deeper into the water. "How the hell did this happen?" she muttered to herself. "I agreed to this performance because I wanted to get AWAY from Mahora for a few days, not sink myself into the place where the lunatic fringe is staying for the rest of the week!"

"Hasegawa-san, I brought some shampoo!" Called out Negi, barging in.

Chisame spat water and turned shouting, "Get the hell out of here! Girls need their privacy!"

"Aiyee, I'm sorry!" Called out Negi as she threw her bath bucket at his head. There was a dull clunking sound as it ricocheted and landed onto the stones with a series of wood on rock CLUNKS.

"Honestly, stupid kid," grumbled Chisame. She looked over and raised an eyebrow as the shampoo he brought was the brand she used. "How? Hmm, I guess he's good for something."

Getting out of the water, Chisame set to work cleaning her hair more thoroughly. After she sunk back into the hot spring, she sighed and removed her glasses and set them aside. "What the hell am I doing here? Taking up some strange kid's offer and then landing at a potential epicentre of ground zero."

"Myuh," offered Tama-chan as she floated in the water. Chisame jerked in shock and then grabbed her glasses. "Myuh!" said Tama-chan, waving.

"A... turtle? Oh god, it's HIS turtle." Chisame groaned and sunk under the water.

"Myuuu..." said Tama-chan, mimicking the dive.

* * *

Freshly washed and dressed in one of Kitsune's tops and rather tight leather pants, Chisame bound her hair up and then grimaced as Tama-chan landed on her head. "Off," she snapped but Tama-chan held fast.

"Myuh," protested Tama-chan and Chisame decided it was inane to argue with a rumoured hyper-intelligent flying hot springs turtle. Especially that the current rumours around Mahora Academy was that the turtle was smart enough to mark Junior High School English Essays. Moral of that story was never get the turtle angry at you or fail the class. Stifling a groan, she headed towards the kitchen where a welcome smell of food was being cooked.

Looking into the kitchen, Shinobu hummed to herself as she chopped a few vegetables. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes Su," she said and then turned. "Oh, you're not Su."

"Nope," said Chisame.

"Nice to meet you, you must be the girl Negi-san brought home." said Shinobu cheerfully. "I'm Maehara Shinobu. Negi-san asked for my help to start working on your clothing. There's an awful lot of rips in there as well so we're doing the best we can."

"Hasegawa Chisame," said Chisame, sitting down. 'At least she's normal.'

Then, the building shook and a loud cry of "SU! THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!" could be heard with a girl laughing maniacally.

Chisame grabbed the table and cursed. "What the hell was that?"

"That's just Su," said Shinobu calmly as she diced up some carrots and then checked on the Takoyaki she was making.

Chisame twitched. Maybe the little girl WASN'T normal after all.

"Mmm, smells good, Shinobu," announced Asuna as she walked in with Konoka in tow. "Hey, Chisame-chan! What are you doing here?"

Chisame merely buried her head in her hands. "I need to get out of here."

"Nyahahahaha!"

Chisame rubbed her forehead as she could feel a migraine begin to percolate and form at the edges of her senses.

* * *

"Careful there, Aniki, that's a high quality silk." Said Kamo as Negi worked the brush through the cloth furiously. "You've never dry cleaned before, have you Aniki."

Negi sighed as he slowed the pace of his furious scrubbing. "No, not really. Isn't it supposed to be an easier way of cleaning?'

"Forget it. Just put it into the bag and then put those things into there." Kamo rolled his beady eyes and sighed. 'Wizards.'

Putting the dress into the bag, Negi went red as a pair of cute panties and a bra went in as well. "Hasegawa-san really have interesting tastes in clothing," he managed as he placed several more items including an overcoat, a blouse and several dry clean only ribbon sets. Pulling out the last item in the bag, Negi stifled a laugh. "What is this?"

"That's a wand, Aniki, from some kind of anime TV series," said Kamo.

"A wand?" said Negi, waving it around. "It's got good balance but how could you stay discrete with something like this being waved around?"

"So says the wizard who carries a staff everywhere," put in Kamo. "But on TV here in Japan, there are shows focused around characters known as magical girls. Maybe Hasegawa-chan is a cosplayer?"

"A what?"

"A cosplayer; someone who dresses up as an existing character for fun and events," said Kamo. He lit a cigarette and Negi immediately quashed it in order to keep the smell from getting onto the clothing. Kamo looked perturbed for a moment before adding, "In any case Aniki, set the dryer to forty minutes and toss the bag in."

"Maaa, Negi-chan," called out Kitsune as she walked into the laundry room. "Did you happen to see where my leather pants and my Do Not Disturb tank top is?'

"Oh, I lent it to Hasegawa-san," said Negi. "I accidentally knocked her down into the mud so I'm cleaning up her clothes."

"Oh?" said Kitsune, leaning in and ruffling Negi's hair. "Well looks like Negi-chan's growing up, bringing home girls after 'accidentally' knocking them into the mud! My my, you are such a little pervert, Negi-chan!"

"Kitsune!" Protested Negi as Kitsune ruffled his hair and held him fast to her chest, smothering his face into her breasts. "It's not like that, I'm an English Gentleman!"

"Ooh, well I think your little 'English Gentleman' is having a growth spurt!" giggled Kitsune and Negi could smell the alcohol on her breath as she grabbed his pants.

"Geez, Kitsune, get a room!" exclaimed Naru, appearing out of nowhere and hitting Kitsune across the head with a paper fan. "Honestly, she's insatiable. Negi-bozu, your guest needs a place to stay."

"Oh, well, I think there's one more room available on the third level," said Negi and Naru shook her head.

"No, Su blew that up a little while ago," said Naru. "Something about testing out modifications to her Adeat weapon."

"Rgh," grumbled Negi. "I'll put her up in my room and I'll sleep in the lobby."

* * *

Chisame sighed as she lay in bed. Pulling her glasses off, she set them to the side and stared up at the roof with a jagged hole worn through the floorboards. 'What the hell am I doing here? I can't stand these people at all! So why did I accept their invitation to stay over night? Ugh, I must have been drugged during supper or something to have willingly accepted to do something like this. I'm surrounded by the whackos of Mahora Academy and the actual residents of this Girls Dorm are completely insane!'

Turning over, Chisame sighed and got out of bed. Replacing her glasses onto her nose, she opened her door and walked to the railing to look at the scenery. Granted it was not as brilliant as the lights of Mahora, but in a way it had its own country charm. 'Tomorrow and then its the performance and then I can go home. I can't let them know that I'm actually a Net Idol.'

Letting out a soft sigh, Chisame turned to go back into her room and then nearly jumped a meter. "Miyazaki? What are you doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep," said the timid girl. "It's hard for me to sleep anyhow without my pillow and I forgot it back home. So I watch the stars."

"Oh," said Chisame. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Miyazaki Nodoka was one of the most sane people in the Academy, if horribly shy. There were very few people whom Chisame could feasibly hold a conversation with without feeling the urge to kill the speaker or herself to break free. Turning back to the scenery, the soft glow of the Hinata House's lights seemed to warm the area as the ever present scent of the hot springs was on the air.

"It's nice," said Nodoka. "It's a shame we'll be heading back in a couple of days to Mahora."

"It is almost the end of the break," allowed Chisame. "So... we'll be class 3-A."

"Yes," said Nodoka. But then she smiled, something rarely seen on the timid librarian girl. "It's been... something of an adventure actually. It's very nice for everything to be peaceful."

Chisame raised an eyebrow. "I suppose." After a moment longer of gazing into the skies, Chisame cleared her throat and said, "I'm going to head to bed."

"Ah. Sleep well."

* * *

"Good morning Chisame-san!" Greeted Shinobu. "Breakfast is ready, so please go right ahead."

"Thank you," allowed Chisame as she sat down. Most of the girls from her class were awake with the exception of one or two who were sleeping in. Taking a sip of her miso with clams, Chisame cast a glance over the assembled girls who were eating at the table and laughing and chatting with everyone.

At the end of the table, crowded with three mismatched seats on the end were Kagurazaka Asuna, Konoe Konoka and Sakurazaki Setsuna. Konoka and Asuna were best friends but Setsuna barely spoke to Konoka from the length of time the girl with the sword came to the school. Currently, Setsuna was even laughing and being fed pieces of food by Konoka as if they had become best friends within a week once more. On the other side of the table were two of the residents, Su Kaolla and Sarah MacDougal. Su looked like she was from at least a tropical climate due to her very deep tan, a tan she had only seen once before on Tatsumiya Mana. She was the one who reputably blew up the room that was now under repair on the third floor and her partner in crime was a little ten year old girl from California. Sarah was something of a tomboyish and rather crude girl when things came down to it.

Next to them, trading gossip were Saotome Haruna and Konno Kitsune. Kitsune was a resident and Chisame suspected her name was a nickname as no one really called their daughter Kitsune. Although her expressions lent themselves to a fox-like look with her eyes closed and the mischievous grin on her face at all times. Haruna was from her class of course and was the biggest gossip monger of them all. If you let her in on a secret, it wouldn't BE a secret within fifteen minutes. It was part of the reason why Chisame closely guarded her status as an Idol as she didn't need half a dozen fans on the campus itself following her everywhere she went. The Net Idol Chiu was a hot topic amongst the people of Mahora and many people would have paid a fortune to know that moody Hasegawa Chisame was the gorgeous and witty Chiu.

"Good morning everyone!" Exclaimed Negi, bounding into room with a lot more energy than needed so early in the morning. "Breakfast looks so good, Shinobu-san!"

"Thank you," said Shinobu as she spooned more rice into his bowl.

"Oh, everyone, there's a concert at the beach today!" Added Negi and Chisame nearly performed a textbook spit-take. "The Net Idol Chiu is going to be there today!"

'It's just an appearance, not a concert!' Thought Chisame angrily.

"Really?" Exclaimed Naru. "Oh, she's my favourite!"

"Hehehe, Naru tried the whole Net Idol thing once," laughed Kitsune. "Although she couldn't even get halfway to the popularity of Chiu."

"It must be a wonderful thing to be so famous," sighed Shinobu and Chisame could only gawk. Were ALL of the girls fans?

"Negi-bozu, take me with you!" Added Makie, suddenly appearing behind him and kicking him into his breakfast.

Getting up and wiping the miso from his face, Negi sighed. "Well, there's supposed to be tickets sold."

"A hundred and fifty yen a ticket," said Chisame, drawing attention to herself and immediately wished she didn't say anything.

"Wow, Chisame-chan, are you a fan as well?" asked Asuna curiously. "I remember that Kazumi often shows us the newest pics and downloads the latest song mixes from Chiu's website."

"I, er, um, well, I just know. It's hard not too with all of those Fanboys running around. Excuse me, I need to get my stuff."

"Aw, Chisame-chan are you headed out now?" asked Konoka.

"I don't feel well and traveling makes me ill. I'll see you all later." With that, Chisame stormed off.

"Hmmm," said Haruna. "She's hiding something from us. Get out your book Nodoka-chan!"

"Aweeee? No! That's an invasion of privacy!" Protested Nodoka and Yue nodded.

* * *

"Gotta get outta here before they drag me to my own appearance," grumbled Chisame as she stomped into the laundry room and pulled the dry cleaning bag out of the dryer. Making a quick check, everything seemed to be there. Practically ripping the costume out of the depths of the bag, Chisame shoved it into her backpack and zipped the bag shut. Slinging it over her back, she pushed the doors open and headed out the main doors.

"Hasegawa-san!" Called out Negi and Chisame fought the urge to run away very fast. "Hasegawa-san, where are you going?"

"Just... back to Mahora," said Chisame. She held her hand as it trembled.

"Oh, well the girls and I were going to go to the concert," said Negi and Chisame fought the urge to yell that it was merely an appearance. "I was wondering, would you like to come along?"

'NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! I CAN'T GO WITH YOU GUYS, YOU'LL DISCOVER I'M A FREAK!' Screamed Chisame in her head. What came out of her mouth surprised her to the point of near speechlessness. "All right."

'I need to get my head examined,' thought Chisame.

* * *

"CH-IU, CH-IU, CH-IU!" The crowd of people chanted.

Asuna whistled as she gazed over the multitude of people. "There sure are a lot of people out here."

"Stick close, Nodoka," said Yue and Nodoka pulled in closer to the group.

"Wow, it's fifteen minutes and they're already demanding Chiu's appearance," said Negi. "Isn't this neat, Hasegawa-san?"

"Yeah... great." Chisame's eyes darted around, looking for a way out of the crowd. Being in the middle of the thick crowd that was constantly moving about, it would take a lot to get through. "Excuse me, I need to go to the washroom," said Chisame as she started to elbow through the crowd.

"Eh? Hasegawa-san, it's about to start!"

"I need to go!" Protested Chisame as she shoved through the crowd. Someone bumped into her and her bag came loose. From it, the wand spilled out but Chisame was sucked back into the crowd of people.

Making his way through the press of people, Negi picked up the wand. "Hasegawa-san!"

* * *

"There's barely enough time to get ready," Chisame thought to herself as she slipped into the small cornered off room set aside for her dressing room. Quickly, Chisame threw her bag down and pulled out her make up kit to start applying it while pulling her shirt off over her head.

"Um, Hasegawa-san?" Chisame nearly fell over in shock as Negi stood behind her, holding the wand in his hands. "I'm sorry, but the door was open and... is this a bad time?"

"What... are you doing in here!" Shouted Chisame as she pulled Negi inside and slammed the door shut. "Did anyone see in here? DID ANYONE FOLLOW YOU!"

"Aaaawwwwkkk," enunciated Negi as he was shook hard. "No no! You dropped this and I thought you needed it."

Chisame sighed and let go of Negi. Snatching the wand from his hand, she put it onto the mirrored table. "Fine. Now go."

"Hasegawa-san... you're Chiu, aren't you?" said Negi. "I mean, I did your laundry and found that really cute dress in your stuff and well..."

"This... does not get out, okay?" said Chisame angrily as she finished applying her make up. "Turn around, brat."

Negi obliged as she threw the dress and blouse on. As Chisame adjusted the ribbons, Negi said, "You know... I have to wonder why you hide like this. You're pretty and all, even without the make up."

Chisame reddened a bit but adjusted her clothing a bit more. "Those girls out there, are my classmates. My class is as weird as I come and I try my best to be normal. If word got out that I was Chiu, the most popular Net Idol in the area, they would label me as one of the weird people. I work too hard to be normal damnit and I don't want that illusion to break."

"But it's a shame," said Negi. "You are very pretty and what's wrong with letting people know you're a Net Idol? After all, look at the day today. It's almost as pretty as you."

Chisame let out her breath in a sharp exhalation. "You wouldn't understand."

"I see. Hasegawa-san? You do have my support though, and you're welcome back at any time, especially as yourself." With that, Negi headed out of the dressing room. Chisame watched him go and sighed, slumping into the nearest chair.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Cried the announcer. "Please, give it up, for the worlds most popular Net Idol, CHIU!"

The crowd exploded into cheering as Chiu walked onto the stage, a smile on her face. Waving to the crowd, she brought up the microphone and said, "Hello Hinata City, Chiu is happy to see all of you!" The crowd cheered louder as she cried, "Thank you for coming today! I'm glad to see all of you here and well..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Chisame saw Negi standing behind the curtain. He smiled and gave her a wave and Chiu blushed. "Well... I didn't plan on it, but maybe, I could sing a song or two."

With people cheering and a tap of the button of the sound system, Chiu launched into her first number of the day.

* * *

"Oh wow, that was something!" Cheered Makie as the whole crowd headed back for Hinata House. "The way she sang, it was like being at a concert!"

"I admit it was exhilarating," said Motoko with a nod. "It was my first concert as well."

"Hey, Chisame-chan, you missed a great concert! What's wrong, the bathroom exploded?" teased Asuna.

"Heh. I got sidetracked," said Chisame and she met Negi's eyes.

"Oooh, so that's where Negi-bozu disappeared to!" Proclaimed Kaede and Negi made a "Gack!" sound.

"So how was he?" asked Haruna and Chisame went completely red. "I want details! DETAILS!"

"Get away from me!" Cried Chisame as she was chased by the girls from Mahora back to the dorm.

"Negi," said Seta and Negi looked up at him. "Good job."

"Eh? I didn't do anything, Seta-san," said Negi.

"On the contrary. I think you did a remarkable job."

"Come back Chisame-chan! We need as many details as possible!"

"Get away you crazy people!"

"Nyahahaha! Engaging the Mecha Kamo-kun Version 1.0! Capture mode!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"


	7. Chapter 6 : Truth And Fiction! The Story

Side B : Love Negima!

Written By Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima! are owned and created by Ken Akamatsu. All characters used for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 6 : Truth and Fiction! The Story Of A Screw Up!

* * *

The day started out like any other at Hinata House. With a bang.

"OH GOD!"

With a tremendous crash and a gush of water, Seta's van smashed into the pool, bowling over a poor Nine and a Half Western Magi. "Oh, sorry about that Negi-kun," said Seta as he got out of the van and helped Negi to his feet.

"Owww, somehow I think I'm actually getting used to it, Seta-san," said Negi, rubbing his bruised everything. Wind Barriers barely did anything during life at Hinata House and it was getting to the point where Negi was seriously considering using something else. Like conjured rock walls. "Somehow I think Wind Barriers aren't going to help."

"Try focusing it in one spot to reduce the impact," said Seta helpfully. "Is Sarah around?"

"Papa!" Exclaimed Sarah running up and jumping up into his arms. As Seta reached down to catch her, Sarah sprung into a kick to the back of the head. "Papa I told you that you can't go around smashing things recklessly! It gets us into trouble!"

"Ah, Sarah, I'm sorry," said Seta as the girls walked in.

"Hey, Seta," greeted Kitsune. "What's up?"

"Good timing actually," said Seta. "I've been talking it over with Haruka lately and I was planning on leaving Sarah here in the care of Hinata House."

"Huh?" asked Naru. "You want to leave Sarah here?"

"Papa? What? Why?" exclaimed Sarah.

"It's not good for an impressionable young girl to keep following me around on such an unstructured lifestyle," said Seta, rubbing Sarah's head. "It will be good for you here with people to help you and support you. Don't worry, I won't be gone long in between trips, I promise."

"Papa, you can't leave me here!" Protested Sarah but Seta was already halfway into the van. "PAPA!"

"Have a good time, Sarah!" Called out Seta as he backed up and zoomed off over the hill.

Sarah dropped to her knees wordlessly as her eyes watered. "Um, it'll be all right Sarah, we're here, right?" said Naru.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Taking off like a shot, Sarah ran down the stairs of the Hinata House.

"Poor Sarah," said Shinobu. "Negi-san, go after her!"

"Eh?" asked Negi but was immediately cowed by the girls glares. "Right, I'm going. Yeah." Summoning his staff to himself he hopped onto the staff and tore off into the sky.

* * *

"It's not fair," said Sarah as she hugged her knees to her chest. "Papa you idiot. Why'd you have to leave me here with them?"

"Sarah!" With a soft thump, Negi landed on the soft sand. "Sarah, everyone's worried about you. Can you come back to the House?"

"Why should I? Sure my papa left me there but I'm not like you freaks!"

"Eh? Why are you calling us freaks anyhow?" asked Negi.

"Look at the people in the house. One's a raging drunk nymphomaniac, another's an insane maniac, Naru likes to punch you around like a pinball despite you being MY age and YOU! That stupid pactio thing during Kyoto! All for what? That was a first kiss and I doubt it's going to matter any more, you fucking jackass!"

"Now hold on a bloody minute!" Snapped Negi angrily. "For one, you were the one who said it was just going to come anyhow and MADE the damn thing!"

"Says you, you stupid ass!" Sarah was getting so angry, her language became cruder and she slipped into English. "You, of all people, some kind of high and mighty wizard telling me what to do? I'll tell you something you nancy boy English Bastard, my mother was twice the wizard your father was!"

"How dare you..." seethed Negi as he slipped into his accented English. "You don't know how my father was like!"

"I know the stories," snarled Sarah, stomping over to stab him in the chest with one finger. "Sure everyone calls Nagi Springfield the Thousand Master but that's because no one knew what he was capable of! He was the master of FIVE OR SIX spells TOPS!"

"I don't believe you," growled Negi. "How would you know? You weren't there."

"No... but my momma was. And Seta and Haruka. And they knew! They knew that your dad was nothing but a Magic School Drop Out who had the tendency to make ANY spell he used go wildly out of control! You know those invading armies of Magi he stopped? He was doing a credible imitation of bloody Vash the Stampede - Running for his LIFE!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut UP!" Screamed Negi. "You don't know! You weren't there! Your mother could be lying, Seta could by lying you stupid bloody American girl, you know nothing of tact or the truth! You... you..."

Sarah stared at him and he stared back. Both of their faces were stained with tears. And then, Sarah drew back her hand and screamed "JACKASS!" And Negi was sent flying onto his back from a mighty punch. With that, she ran off as Negi realized what he had just done.

"I'm such a bloody moron," whispered Negi as he let himself cry. Overhead, the rain began to fall.

* * *

Sarah sniffled as she wiped her tears away with one hand. More came to replace them as the torrential rains came down, pelting her and soaking her to the bone. She didn't care as the rain plastered her clothes to her body, the way that it drove like needles into her skin with the rain so cold. As she walked along the streets of Hinata City, her tears came once more as she looked up into the skies. "Momma," she whispered.

Memories were there, memories of a pretty blonde lady who sung her to sleep. Memories that were abruptly cut short when her mother died a scant five years into Sarah's life. But the songs she sung at night comforted her, even though they were hazy and indistinct. It had been a night like any other when her mother had died. Sarah had only been five when it happened.

Magical Wasting. A terrifying disease that had come during the war. The war had been terrible for people on both sides of the community and to demoralize and weaken ranks from inside out, a condition was created. Magical Wasting drained the life from the person, the very essence of Mana that resided within everyone. Seta told her exactly how she died the day afterwards. She had cried herself to sleep in his arms. That day marked the day when she called him papa for the first time. Her mother was a wonderful woman, a gentle healer and a combatant as ferocious as Haruka was on the field. She spent more time bailing Nagi out of danger than healing his wounds. Nagi had vanished one night after the war. And then, she was born. It was unlikely that Nagi was her father, but to Sarah, Seta was all she needed.

'Besides,' Sarah thought bitterly as she walked into the red light district of Hinata City. 'That asshole would be my brother. And I'm not ready for that to happen yet.'

Ignoring the stares that came from the drunken salarymen and the lecherous old men, Sarah threaded her way towards the heart of the district. Things like this didn't bother the girl, she was rather adult in nature despite her smaller frame and young age. It came from having to bail out Seta more often than needed. "Hey," said a tough looking man. "Little girls shouldn't be out here."

Sarah ignored him but the man simply grinned and pressed on. "You must be one of the new girls. C'mon chickie, there's a room over there."

"Buzz off lolicon lover, unless you want to get burned," snarled Sarah.

"Oooh, she's feisty," chuckled another man. "I'll bet she's a screamer."

One hand clasped onto her shoulder and Sarah snarled. Grabbing the hand, she heaved him over her shoulder as best as possible. The man hit the ground with a thud and the others backed up. "So, want some?" said Sarah as she slid into a Jeet Kun Do stance.

"Little girl, you have no idea what you just did," said one man as he lurched forward with a downward stop. Sarah simply spun away and flashed up into a spinning crescent kick that sent him flying into the trash cans. "Shit!" snapped the man, adjusting his jaw. "She's tough. Hold her down boys!"

As one, the men charged as Sarah reached into her pocket. Suddenly, there was a blur of movement and the half-drunken men flew backwards as a kid her age sneered back at them.

"You guys shouldn't pick on a girl that could kick your ass," said the kid with a vicious grin. "You should leave."

"Damnit. It's not worth it, I'll bet she's a cheap little girl anyhow." The lead man spat out a tooth and limped away. The boy flashed them the American finger.

"Feh, they're just stupid drunks," said the boy as she turned to Sarah who watched him with a neutral stare. Her left hand was still thrust into her front coverall pocket and the boy raised an eyebrow. "So don't I get a thank you?"

"Hmph," said Sarah. "You move good. Lemme guess; Wolf Style Martial Arts?"

"You're good to know that," said the boy. "At least lemme give you my name. I'm Inugami Kotarou."

"Well thanks for your help," said Sarah as she loosed her grip on her Adeat card. "I'm Sarah MacDougal and I'll be just leaving."

"Hold on there," said Kotarou. "It's too late for someone to be wandering around, especially with this many half-drunk assholes about. I have a room here that you can dry off in. Interested?"

Sarah didn't reply and Kotarou pressed on. "It's warm and I promise you can kick the crap out of me if I do anything stupid."

"Fine."

* * *

"Man those guys were stupid, trying to pick up a girl who can fight," said Kotarou as Sarah toweled off her head. She was dressed in one of Kotarou's long shirts as he was making tea on the other side of the room. The room itself was in a rather respectable part of town, a few blocks away from the red light district. it was cheap enough to be known as one of Hinata's various Love Motels but it was fairly upper class so it also gathered a respectable clientele. Picking up two japanese-styled cups, Kotarou set it down on the small table between the two beds and picked up a small package. "Sugar?"

Sarah reached over and ripped open four of the packets, dumping them into the liquid. "Look, I'm glad you helped me out there, but I could have taken them easily."

"I don't doubt that," said Kotarou easily. "You look like you've had experience fighting."

"Heh. Papa tends to get into more trouble than it's worth."

"You looked like you were crying back there," said Kotarou. "It showed in your stance."

"Hmph... it's this stupid kid I know. He thinks his father was the most incredible man ever, but he won't even open his eyes to the flaws that people around him knew. Everyone calls him a great man, the Thousand Master and it sickens me that he was a regular idiot who didn't get his spells right half the time." Sarah sipped her tea. "Wotta jerk."

Kotarou had some indeterminable emotion flicker in his eyes as he emptied some cream into his own cup. "This guy was that powerful? What was he, a fighter?"

"Some kind of war hero," said Sarah. "It just sickens me that Negi thinks his father was the end all."

"Maybe, he's trying to live to a memory." Suggested Kotarou. "How old was he anyhow? When this Thousand Master guy died?"

"God, I dunno. Maybe one or two. If half the stories were true, over fifty women across the world could attribute their children's birth to Nagi Fucking Springfield."

"Look, the rain will let up. Do you want me to walk you back to where you were staying?"

"Fine." Sarah took another sip of her tea and sighed. "Hey, wake me up when the rain lets up, okay? And no funny stuff. Last time some old letch tried to feel me up, I stopped him from passing his genetics on."

"Right. Sleep well."

* * *

"You're late," said Chigusa as Kotarou opened the door to the balcony. "Did you find the location of Konoka-ojousama?"

"All reports say that she went back to Mahora Academy," said Kotarou. "It'll be harder to enact our plans with her out of reach once more."

"Keep at it. Who is that girl who sleeps there?"

"Meh, some kid I helped. She lives with the son of the Thousand Master."

"Does she now? Very interesting. Watch her, and if Negi Springfield deems to interfere once more, get rid of him."

"Right."

Chigusa vanished as her form reverted to a paper talisman as Kotarou snatched the paper out of the air and crumpled it. Pocketing the paper, he looked across the room at the still sleeping Sarah. "Still out like a light."

Walking over and grabbing her clothing that was hanging over the bed, he wrung it out with a twist of the fabric. The water pooling onto the hotel room, a slip of paper fell out of the front of her pocket. Stooping to pick up the paper, Kotarou looked at the picture on the card and realized with a start that the girl had a Pactio card on herself. The picture of Sarah had her dressed in a stylized western design of combat togs. A t-shirt, jacket and overalls with her predominant baseball cap on her head. Slung over one shoulder was a simply massive silver and blue sword that even on the card seemed to glow with an internal chilly light. Another sword was slung over her shoulder, this one silver and red and seemed to glow with flames on the page. Sarah stirred and Kotarou pocketed the card. "Hey, it's stopped raining," said Kotarou and Sarah came to full awareness.

"Right," she said. "My clothing dry?"

"Almost," said Kotarou. "They're damp still. It's what you get for wandering around in the driving rain."

"Good enough for me," said Sarah as she grabbed her stuff and wandered into the bathroom. Soon enough, she came out dressed. "All right, lets go."

As the pair headed through the darkened streets, Kotarou looked over at Sarah and said, "So... did you ever stop to think that Negi has something to live up to?"

"Hmm? Why do you say that?"

"Well, being the son of the Thousand Master. Dunno what that is, but it sounds important, right? Maybe, because he never knew his father, he feels that he has to do the best he can. The kid sounds green, but... in a way, I could admire his drive to prove himself."

"Kotarou..." said Sarah.

"Aaah, I've said too much," chuckled Kotarou. "C'mon, wanna play Bowl Over The Salarymen as we run through the Red Light on the way back?"

Sarah laughed. "All right!"

As Kotarou took off into a run and Sarah followed after him, Sarah thought to herself 'Maybe Negi really is trying his best. Though he's such a kid about it really. Aw well, I guess I can forgive him.' "Wait up there!" Shouted Sarah as she pulled ahead of the wolf boy.

* * *

"Sarah! Sarah! Mou, where did she get to?" wondered Naru to herself.

"Sarah?" Called out Motoko from the high vantage point on the pole. "I do not see her."

"Hey, did you find her?" called out Kitsune as she and Shinobu ran up to them.

"Nowhere," replied Motoko as she landed beside Kitsune. "I'm getting worried."

"Oh, I hope she's all right," said Shinobu.

Naru nodded as she looked across the road. "Oh, Negi! Where did you get to?"

Negi shuffled forward, still sniffing. He was sopping wet and everything about him seemed listless. "Negi, what's wrong, kiddo?" asked Kitsune.

"N-Nothing," sniffled Negi.

"I doubt it's nothing," said Kitsune. "C'mon kiddo, lets get you dried off and then round up Su and Kamo. They're somewhere here."

* * *

"I don't believe this," said Naru. Despite the anger welling up in her chest and the urge to hit Negi, she couldn't bring herself to punch the little kid who had begun to cry once more on the way back to the Hinata House. Currently they had holed up in Haruka's Tea House as the rain had hit once again with driving force. Even Su and Kamo came out of the rain but the jump kick had been forestalled for the moment. "You got into a fight with Sarah, over your father and mother?"

Negi nodded wordlessly and Kitsune sighed. "Poor kids. Look, there's nothing to worry about, I'm sure it'll blow over soon."

"But... what if she won't speak to me anymore?" asked Negi as he sniffled. "I don't think I could face her after getting angry and calling her mother a liar."

"Sarah has always been sensitive about her mother," said Haruka. She lit up a cigarette and then placed a cup of strong tea in front of Negi. "What did she say to you?"

"That... my father, was a failure. A Magic School Drop Out," said Negi, his voice catching in his throat. "And..."

"Mmm..." said Haruka.

"Oh, poor Negi-san," said Shinobu and she hugged him. "I know how it is when parents are the topic of fights."

Negi burst into a fresh bout of tears as he wrapped his arms around Shinobu. "Neesan..." he whispered.

"Cute," whispered Naru and Kitsune nodded. Su grinned with Kamo.

"Negi, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but while your father was a hero, he was also a royal screw up," said Haruka. Negi's eyes widened as he looked up at her. "I'm not telling you this to be mean, but to tell the truth. You see, as a kid, he dropped out of the Wales Magical Academy and went traveling the world. At the age of ten, he entered the Mahora Fighting Tournament and won a price of nearly 1,000,000 Yen. But he didn't do it for himself, but for the people he cared about. Your father had the biggest heart I had ever known, and that's what drew people to him. He was kind, caring, and always gave people chances. Hell, that's what happened with the Dark Evangel, the Undying Mage Evangeline. Your father let her travel with us and gave Evangeline the chance of redemption. There was always something there with the people he attracted. People followed him because he wasn't the most powerful, or the most skilled or even the most handsome but because he was a man who made you feel you could do anything, someone with a heart as big as anyone alive."

Haruka paused to take a drag of smoke and blew it out, making a neat little circular puff. "The point is, Negi, that your father was a complete and utter screw up. But the other point is that because he was kind and loved people that he was a great man. Great enough, that he was soon known as the Thousand Master. Of course, he was the one who gave himself that title. Nagi always said to us : It wouldn't be good to call myself the master of five or six spells tops. What do you expect from a Magic School Drop Out? So I never studied, sue me. You have your fathers blood, but you are your own person. Didn't you promise to see him one day?"

"H-Haruka-san..."

"Aw there I go all reminiscing and mushy. I suppose you wanna see my Adeat weapon too?"

"No, it's fine. Really. Thanks, for everything. And for all of you too, for helping me." Negi took a deep breath and said, "I must thank each of you. Without your help, I wouldn't have been the boy I am today."

"Hey, kiddo, maybe you'll earn the right be called a sexy man-thing by me later on, but for what it's worth, you're all right." Grinned Kitsune.

"I like Negis! I want to study you lots!" added Su.

"I wouldn't call you Aniki if you gave up now," said Kamo and Motoko nodded as well.

"You have a heart of a swordswoman. It would be a shame to see it go to waste."

Naru reached over and ruffled Negi's hair. "Look, you're a kid still. Even though you've got a big reputation to live up to, why not try to relax? Just no perverted stuff like blowing off clothing, okay?"

Negi sniffled as he wiped his tears away with a rub of the back of his hand across his eyes. "Thank you. Thank you everyone."

* * *

_"Hahahaha! I thought we were done for back there!" Laughed Nagi Springfield as the small group sat around the campfire. "At least we have good food, right?"_

_  
"Nagi you're a putz," said a blonde woman with a deadpan expression. "Sure we can sneak by them. No really, it's perfectly safe, Ogres have bad eyesight! Jerk."_

_"Hahaha, Tara, you're too hard on Nagi, don't you think?" Laughed Seta from the other side of the campfire._

_"He deserved it," snapped Tara._

_"Maaa, can't we all get along?" Protested Nagi. "Takamichi, help me out here!"_

_"Oh no, I'm not pulling your ass out of the fire again, Nagi," said Takamichi._

_"Gaaaah. Anyone?"_

_Haruka lit her cigarette. "Look we have a day till we get back to friendly territory. Can we NOT bother with trivial manners such as arguing?"_

_"I think she's upset," stage whispered the large man who sat behind Nagi. Nagi grinned at him for a moment._

_"True. Once you get Haruka-san mad at you, nothing can save you!" Pointed out Nagi and Eishun laughed from the other side._

_Haruka snorted. "Men, all pigs. Say, Nagi, one of those girls out there claimed you were the father of her kid. So?"_

_Nagi rolled her eyes. "If the rumors were true, I'd be making kids since I was five."_

_"..." Offered a small blonde haired girl and the even smaller girl offered the same amount of commentary on the scenario._

_"Aw Eva-chan, don't be like that," said Nagi with a grin. "I'll be your husband when you grow up."_

_Evangeline merely produced a half-smile as she scootched over closer to the fire._

_"It's getting late," said a man dressed in a casual suit. "Say Takamichi, want to take the first watch?"_

_"Me? Get Nagi to do it. He obviously has the stamina to still run in terror!"_

_"There's no problems then, we'll just Janken for it!"_

_"Right, but none of that baseball Janken crap."_

_"One, two, three, shoot!"_

_"Aaaaw, she threw out scissors again!"_

_"Tough! All right, which one do you want to take first watch?"_

_"... Nagi."_

_"HA! SUCKER!"_

* * *

"Man, it really likes to rain a lot today," said Kitsune as the small group got back to the top of the hill. "Hmm?"

Sarah stood there, arms folded and looking rather annoyed. Beside her, a teenager dressed in black and white sort of smirked at the group. "There you all are!" said Sarah. "Geez, what's up with running out like that?"

"Sarah, you're all right!" Cried Shinobu, grabbing her in a hug.

"Hey, lemme go! You're squishing me!"

"Did you bring her home?" asked Negi of the boy and the boy grinned.

"Yeah. You'd best keep her safe. So you're Negi Springfield, the guy who made her cry."

"Ulp... Um, yeah, I sort of got mad at her."

The boy laughed. "I'm Inugami Kotarou. Look, I dunno what kind of relationship you and she have but promise me you'll keep her safe. You have a long way to go... as a wizard."

"Eh?" said Negi as Kotarou pressed the card into his hands. "But..."

"Hey, Negi!" Called out Sarah and Negi turned to her. "I heard Haruka told you how your dad was. Ready to admit he was a screw up?"

Negi had to smile back at her as Sarah's grin was wide and without malice. "You wish!" Laughed Negi and Sarah grinned back.

"C'mon, it's a reunion party!" Cheered Kitsune.

"I get to pick the video game!" Called out Su as the girls headed into the Hinata House.

Negi turned back to where Kotarou stood but found the space currently not occupied. Running to the top of the steps, he looked down the stairs. Kotarou was already at the bottom with his hands in his pockets. Looking at the Pactio card in his hand that depicted Sarah, Negi cupped his hands and yelled out, "KOTAROU! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!"

Kotarou held up a hand in salute as he disappeared around the corner.

'Dad... Nekane-neesan... Anya... everyone... I promise I'll become a great wizard. And I'll do it, with the help of the people who love and care about me.'

"What'cha doin' standing there looking so cool, huh!" Cried Sarah as she plowed into Negi with a flying knee.

"ARGH! I was having a moment!" Cried Negi as he chased Sarah around. But the pair were laughing.


	8. Chapter 7 : The Great Trio! NaruEvaKit

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned by Ken Akamatsu. All characters are used for entertainment purposes only. The song used in this chapter Wake Up! is copyrighted by myself (c) Shaun Garin 2005 and this is the first time it has ever been used. Completely original. Really.

Chapter 7 : The Great Trio! Naru-Eva-Kit!

* * *

"Rrrgh," said Naru as she plunked her head down on the desk. "I just can't concentrate right now. I wonder why?"

Heaving a tremendous sigh, Naru picked up a book and opened it. Paging through it without really stopping to read the stuff, she looked out the window. "Certainly is quiet with everyone out right now."

Setting down the book, Naru reached out and thumbed through the books on her shelf before pulling out a random book. Opening it, Naru blinked. "Oh wow, it's my Mahora Photo Album! This certainly brings back memories."

Paging through the book, Naru giggled at a picture of her and Kitsune standing in front of the school. "Back then, things were the same."

* * *

_"Awwwuuuu, hurry up Kitsune-chan! If we're late again, Kazuki-sensei will have our heads!"_

_"Maa, don't worry," giggled Kitsune as she ran a brush through her hair. Her younger dormmate scampered around the room, frantically pulling the things together for the frenzied run up towards the campus. "I'd worry about Niita-sensei anyhow. He likes to torment little girls," said Kitsune with an evil chuckle and a perverted wiggling of her fingers._

_"Awwuuu," moaned Naru. "Hurry up!"_

_Kitsune laughed and set down her brush. "All right scaredy cat, lets get going."_

_The panicked run towards Mahora Academy was a daily event for the pair of girls and half the school. The trains ran constantly back and forth from the dormitory residences to the districts of the Academy City, and the last train usually skirted the first warning bell. Failure to get there on time usually resulted in some deep-seated pranks from the Attendance Committee or a stern lecture from the grim man known as Niita-sensei. Niita was the guidance counselor and was something of an ogre to the students._

_Bursting into the classroom of 2-F, Naru slumped into her desk and moaned. "When will it end?" she wondered to herself._

_"Hey Naru, you're almost late again," grinned a girl named Kana. She was a girl taller than Naru with a smattering of freckles on her nose. "What's the matter? Kitsune keep you up?"_

_"No, she's just late as usual," grumbled Naru as Kitsune lazily sauntered in and sat down._

_"Did you hear that we're getting a new student today?" asked Mizuki._

_"I heard," said another girl named Yuu. "Her name is Evangeline McDowell. Although there's something odd about that girl."_

_"Oh?" asked Naru as this was the first she heard of the new student._

_"Yeah. Some say she lives on campus and attends school every so often," said Yuu with a grin. "She's from Europe or somewhere around there, cause she's definitely not Japanese."_

_"I heard she never talks to anyone," said Mizuki. "And that she's antisocial."_

_The door opened once more and Kana lowered her voice. "There she is, Naru-chan."_

_Naru turned to look at the girl. She was short, barely out of her child years with long blonde hair that flowed down to her knees. There was an elegant grace around her that allowed her to move softly. Her eyes were a deep blue color but she had an annoyed expression on her face. Her manner of seifuku was of the Junior High Division although she didn't look happy to be there whatsoever. Sitting down in the furthest corner desk, she folded her arms and appeared to go to sleep._

_"Wow, she looks like she has issues," remarked Mizuki._

_"I think..." said Naru as she got up. "She needs to be welcomed."_

_Walking over to the girl, Naru smiled at Evangeline. Evangeline looked up at her, cracking open an eye. "What do you want?" she asked curtly._

_"Hi, I'm Naru. Do you want to be friends?" asked Naru, smiling down on her._

_To everyone's surprise, Evangeline's expression melted into a shocked look before she reached out. "Sure, why not. Friends."_

* * *

"I wonder how Eva-chan is doing," wondered Naru as she paged through the photo album. "She was so quiet from the long time I knew her."

"Hey, whatcha looking at?" asked Kitsune, appearing overhead. Naru jumped and fumbled the photo album. Reaching down, Kitsune paged through it and grinned. "I remember this," she said, holding up a picture of Evangeline, Naru and Kitsune at the Mahora Festival. "It took us so much time to get her into that Yutaka."

* * *

_"NO! I absolutely refuse!" protested Evangeline. "I refuse to wear that Yutaka!"_

_"Aw c'mon," grinned Kitsune as she started to pull Evangeline's shirt off. "Lets get that plain old school outfit off and into this! It's the festival!"_

_  
"I refuse!" wailed Evangeline as Kitsune yanked the smaller girl's shirt off._

_"C'mon, you gotta!" added Kitsune with a laugh as she grabbed for Evangeline's bra. "Oh, and you're supposed to go naked under here!"_

_"Kyah!"_

_"Kitsune-chan!" exclaimed Naru. "You shouldn't torment Eva-chan like that!"_

_"Aw c'mon, it's fun," grinned Kitsune. "I'm just messing with you, Eva-chan."_

_Evangeline glared at Kitsune as she wrestled on the yutaka, messing up the knot on the back intentionally before Kitsune went and fixed it. "You definitely have issues."_

_"Can't argue with that. Oh, c'mon the festival is starting! Time for Naru-Eva-Kit to make a wonderful appearance!"_

"_Naru-Eva-Kit? It makes us sound like some pop singers," giggled Naru._

"_I don't like it," said Evangeline._

"_It's better than the Trio of Doom," pointed out Kitsune and Evangeline's lips quirked into a smirk before she laughed._

"_All right fine. Naru-Eva-Kit it is."_

* * *

"Sure are a lot of memories in here," said Kitsune as the pair of girls shared a drink outside on the rooftop. "So, what made you wanna haul out the old photo album, huh Naru?"

Naru shrugged as she laid back on the roof, holding the album open in one hand and staring at the multitude of pictures from her junior high years. "I don't know really," said Naru after a long moment. "For some reason, I sort of feel like I can't concentrate, like I couldn't back in junior high."

"Hmm," said Kitsune as she sipped her beer. "Well, you're finally out of high school now but you haven't done anything but read and pick on the kid. You're missing something Naru."

"Maybe you're right," said Naru as she paged through the photo album. "It's not that I hate being here, it's just that I have to be doing something."

"And you can't study as a result," said Kitsune. "Hmm... how about we go on a little trip? The others are in class and I'm sure the kid can ferry us there anyhow."

"Hmm? Where to?" asked Naru.

Kitsune grinned. "We're going to go back to the old stomping grounds. Pack your bags girlfriend, we're going back to Mahora Academy!" With that, Kitsune posed.

"Eh?" said Naru.

* * *

"Are you two all right back there?" asked Negi. "I'm sorry this couldn't be any faster but I'm carrying three people."

"No it's okay," called out Naru. "Just keep going, we're almost there."

Negi had been roped into transport as Seta and his van were nowhere in sight. Loading a backpack or two, the two girls, one boy and an ermine piled onto the wizarding staff with Kitsune pretty much balancing on the end while she clung to Naru's shoulders while Naru clung to the staff as well. Despite Negi assuring them that the wind magic he employed would keep them on the staff, Kitsune and Naru could not help but worry about falling off. Kamo-kun, long since used to this situation had ridden on the forefront, doing a credible imitation of the recent Titanic movie.

Breaking over the horizon, Negi exclaimed, "Wow! Is this your old school, Naru-san? Kitsune-san?"

"It sure is kiddo," said Kitsune as the staff rocketed towards the school. "Land in that grove of trees near the outskirts."

Coming to a soft landing, the girls jumped off and Naru shivered as she huddled in her jacket. "Oh god that was cold. Anyone who said flying in the arms of a superhero without a jacket must have been insane."

"I'm sorry Naru-san, but I kept the wind barrier up to stave off most of the chill," said Negi apologetically. He then looked up at the western house that seemed more like a cabin than anything else. "Is this it?"

"Yep," said Kitsune. "Looks like it's still inhabited too. Hopefully Eva-chan is there." Striding up to the door, Kitsune rapped her fist on the door. "Hey, anyone home?"

There was a moment pause and then the door opened to reveal a tall green haired girl with peculiar ear adornments. "Yes?" she asked. "Have you come to visit the Mistress?"

"That depends," replied Kitsune cheekily. "Is your mistress Eva-chan?"

The girl raised an eyebrow and then stepped aside. "Please come in. I will inform the mistress that you are here miss..?"

"Narusegawa Naru, Konno Mitsune and Negi Springfield," said Kitsune. "We're old friends. Well, cept for the kid of course."

The girl bowed. "I am Chachamaru. I will go fetch her now."

The interior was just how Naru remembered it, full of dolls and various other knickknacks that made the house feel like it was full of life and presence. Evangeline by nature was a very private girl but somehow she and Kitsune had managed to befriend her and even include her in their two-girl friendship circle and made it a wonderful Tri-girl circle. "Just how I remember it," said Naru, sitting down and picking up a doll that seemed to look back at her.

* * *

"Mistress? You have visitors."

"Send them away, Chachamaru," ordered Evangeline. "I'm tired from hunting last night."

"They said they are Miss Narusegawa, Miss Konno and Mr. Springfield," said Chachamaru and Evangeline jerked up from her bed in shock.

"What?" demanded Evangeline and Chachamaru repeated the names. Evangeline went pale. "No... no no no! I can't let them see me like this! No! Chachamaru, tell them I'm sick... or dead or not here! Anything!"

"Is something the matter mistress?" asked Chachamaru.

"Do as I SAY!" With that harsh rebuke, Chachamaru bowed and walked downstairs. Evangeline watched her leave and with a sob, fell back into bed. "Why? I can't let them see me like this. Not changed... after six years."

Then, the last name registered in her mind. "Springfield? It can't be..."

* * *

"The mistress is ill," said Chachamaru. "I am sorry but she is also contagious. Please return at a later date."

"Hmmm, contagious huh?" said Kitsune, eyebrow raised. "Heh, she just doesn't wanna see us right now."

At Chachamaru's curious expression, Naru elaborated. "When we went to junior high together, whenever Eva-chan didn't want to talk to us, she'd shut herself in her room saying she was sick. In a way, I suppose she's not happy to see us."

"I do not know your relationship with the mistress," said Chachamaru. "Please elaborate."

Kitsune grinned. "Mistress this, mistress that. I think our little Eva-chan got herself a servant. In any case, we're school friends. Went to junior high with her in any case. Don't worry, when she wants to talk, we'll see her in town. She knows where we hung out anyhow. C'mon Naru, Negi. Ermine."

Bidding Chachamaru goodbye, the four headed out of the house.

From the top of the stairs, Evangeline watched the girls and Negi leave. "There's no doubt about it," she whispered to herself. "It's HIS son."

* * *

"Aniki, I felt some powerful magic in that house," said Kamo once they were out of earshot of Evangeline's household.

"Are you sure?" asked Negi curiously. "I didn't really feel it."

"Oh yeah, it's there. Faint but there."

"What are you talking about perverted ermine?" asked Naru. "If anything, it's YOU who's giving off magical vibes."

"I don't think so," said Kamo, shaking his head. "It almost feels suppressed but there's definitely some magic in there somewhere."

Kitsune shrugged. "Magic this, magic that. If Eva-chan has her secrets, so do we. Don't we Mr. Talking Ermine and Mr. Magister Magi in Training?"

Negi coughed into his hand uncomfortably. "Well, I suppose so. Hey, where are we going anyhow?"

"To our hang out," said Naru. "A crepe stand near Cherry Blossom Street. We always went there; Kitsune, Eva-chan and I."

"Oooh, the Ishikawa Killer Brew is being sold there too!" Kitsune exclaimed, punctuated with a fist into an open palm. "Whadda say, ermine? Wanna split a bottle?"

"Sounds good to me," grinned Kamo and Naru and Negi sighed.

* * *

"The crepe stand," Evangeline said to herself as she peeked around the corner. "Damnit. I want one too. They're probably buying me a strawberry and cream one."

"Mistress shouldn't you be back at the house?" asked Chachamaru from behind Evangeline. Evangeline jumped and whirled on her partner. "I thought you were unwilling to go and meet your old classmates."

"Hmph," said Evangeline as she peeked around the corner. "I just don't feel comfortable doing that right now."

"As you wish."

* * *

"Oooh, the crepes are so goood," moaned Naru as she bit into one. "Just as I remembered it."

"So crepes are pretty popular in Japan, huh?" said Negi as he bit into a gourd crepe. "Whoa, it's bitter!"

"Silly, you got a gourd crepe," said Naru. "Oh geez Negi, you're dripping cream all over the place!" Pulling out a paper towel from the dispenser, she wiped up the puddle. "Eat better, okay kiddo?"

"Aaaah, sorry Naru-san," said Negi. "I never really had crepes myself before."

"That's so cute, Aneesan," grinned Kamo from his own beer. "You look like brother and sister!"

Naru huffed. "Well he's only nine and a half. Just a kid really."

"Naru-san!" protested Negi.

"Now now you two, settle down," chuckled Kitsune. Looking up, an eye opened and she called out, "Oi! Keitaro!"

Naru whirled to see Keitaro in the company of Konoka, Su who had headed out a day ago, and Satomi who was conversing with Su on some kind of technological subject. "Hey, Perverted Ronin-sensei!" shouted Naru and Keitaro fell over in shock. "Get over here!"

"Naru-san, hi!" greeted Keitaro. "What's up?"

"So you going to introduce us to your new squeeze?" grinned Kitsune and Satomi fell over in shock.

"WHAT!" Screeched Satomi and Naru got a death glare expression on her face.

"It's not like that!" shouted Keitaro, gesturing wildly. "She's Su's new friend and it's better than leaving Su and her alone together!"

POKE.

Keitaro blinked and he looked over as his finger had pushed into Naru's breast. Naru growled angrily and then Keitaro went flying. "YOU PERVERTED IMP!"

"PRGH!"

* * *

"_Mouuu, this is so bitter!" exclaimed Naru. "Kitsune I don't see why you like these gourd crepes!"  
_

"_Nyah haha!" laughed Kitsune. "I just don't like too many sweet things, that's all. Hows your strawberry and cream crepe, Eva-chan?"_

"_It's good," said Evangeline. Inwardly she was moaning. Strawberries and cream were some of her old vices from the old country and it was a pleasant thing to be able to enjoy them whenever she wanted._

"_It's gotta be more than good," said Naru. "Ishikawa-san's Crepe Stand is the best stand in the entire school!"_

"_Hmm, well maybe she's in too much bliss to allow us in," said Kitsune. "What's the matter, do you get off on strawberries and cream?"_

_Evangeline went red. "Kitsune!"_

"_Nyah ha ha! Just kidding!" laughed Kitsune._

"_So, our final exams are coming up," said Naru. "Kitsune, you're in High School now. What do you think you'll be doing?"_

"_Hmm," said Kitsune, tapping a finger on the table. "Well, I'm gonna finish High School but not here. I'm running a bit low on funds and mom and dad aren't really up for giving me more. So I'm going to head to Hinata City when you two graduate Junior High."_

"_Eh? You're leaving?" asked Naru. "But why?"_

"_Tuition and funds girl," said Kitsune. "It's a real big drain since I'm doing it myself. How about you Naru?"_

"_Um, well, I was hoping to find a public school too," said Naru after a moment. "Tuition is really steep and these last three years have been really expensive."_

"_I see," said Evangeline. "I'm finishing here. And then living off campus in my house. Maybe go to College here."_

"_Good luck with that," grinned Kitsune. "Once I graduate from High School, it's the slacker life for me!"_

"_To the slacker life, the life of a student and Eva-chan's dream," said Naru, holding up her half-eaten crepe. The girls bounced their own crepes off hers and chorused, "To life."_

* * *

"Wake up your dream... ride the life high..." sung Naru quietly and Kitsune smiled.

"Add the wings of evolution to your life..." added Kitsune and Negi looked at them.

"That's a pretty song," said Negi and Kitsune nodded.

"The trio of Naru-Eva-Kit were also a popular girl group on campus back in the day," said Kitsune with a grin. "That was the main song that we played. Completely original."

"Wow, I'd love to hear it," said Negi.

"Hmm, do you think Ishikawa-san has that old guitar in the back?" asked Naru and Kitsune grinned. The older girl got up and soon came back with the guitar. Strumming a few chords, Kitsune went into a fast paced beat.

Wake up your dream, ride the life high

Add the wings of evolution to your life

Power grasps within your gaze

You just have to feel the life

Magic swirls around us

Become a hero tonight

The world around us shatters

as we burst onto the fray!

Wake Up! It's a life for all to enjoy!

Wake Up! This ain't no lively parade!

Wake Up! The world is full of strife!

Wake Up! It's time for us to do miracles!

Naru-Eva-Kit, full of life

wonderful love tonight

the life of a free bird is one for us!

Wake up your dream, ride the life high

Add the wings of growth to your life

Miracles are within your grasp

As we go off riding towards the sun!

Flight and the world before them

The live wonderful that we all share

Given a chance to soar like a bird

and then we sing out together!

Wake Up! The world around us is failing!

Wake Up! The life around us is crumbling!

Wake Up! It's time for our world to become whole!

Wake Up! It's Time!

Naru-Eva-Kit, full of dreams!

Wonderful spirit tonight

the life of a soaring eagle is for all!

Naru abruptly broke off as the people around them clapped and cheered wildly. Blushing red, she waved at the others and Kitsune grinned as she set aside the guitar. "Bravo Naru," she said with a grin. "That's the spirit I remember."

"Indeed it is," said Evangeline as she sat down next to them. Her eyes had a bit of tears in them. "Hi, Kitsune, Naru."

"Eva-chan!" exclaimed Naru and Kitsune. "Oh my god have you filled out!" added Kitsune.

Evangeline smiled. Tonight was a full moon, a red one which imparted most of her powers to her. Using them frivolously wasn't an option, but tonight she was in an older form of about nineteen years old that she was able to access with her limited draw from the Moon-based Mana. It certainly wouldn't do to look like the usual flat-chested fifteen year old they all remembered from the old days. Dressed in capris and sandals and a form-fitting sweater, Evangeline grinned and said, "I think there's a strawberry crepe waiting for me."

"Hahahaha! Good old Eva-chan!" laughed Kitsune. "Negi, go get her a large!"

"Sure! Nice to meet you Evangeline-san, I'm Negi Springfield," said Negi as he bowed and then rushed off towards the line.

"Cute kid," said Eva. "Love child?"

"Of course not," giggled Kitsune as Naru coughed. "He's just the manager of our dorm. Long story."

"I can listen."

* * *

Authors Notes : Please proceed to Side A : Mahora Sensei Keitaro! Chapter 8 


	9. Chapter 8 : The Girl Who Stole The Stars

Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned by Ken Akamatsu. All characters are used for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 8 : The Girl Who Stole The Stars

* * *

"Hey Naru, you don't look so good," said Kitsune. "Something you ate?"

"Um, no, I just don't have much of an appetite today," said Naru, pouring soy sauce on her food without paying attention to what she ate.

"Aaaah, Naru-san, you're spilling onto the table!" cried out Shinobu and Naru stopped pouring.

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," said Naru. "I think I'm going upstairs. Thank you for dinner."

"Hmm," said Kitsune as she looked at Negi. "I wouldn't suppose you have some kind of magical scrying device, would you?"

"Not really," said Negi, shaking his head. "Something seems to be worrying Naru-san. I hope she'll be okay."

Upstairs, Naru paced back and forth as she hugged her Liddo-kun to her chest. 'What do I do?' she thought to herself. 'Konoka-chan isn't one for lying. But there's only one Evangeline I know and that's Eva-chan. But... awww, what am I going to do? It's bad enough that I'm keeping this from Kitsune but finding out our best friend is an undead blood sucking freak of nature!'

Then Naru paused. 'Wait... Eva-chan was always in the SUN. So she can't possibly be a vampire! Unless she has a magical talisman that prevents her from burning up... Ooooooooh!'

Negi and Kitsune peeked around the corner to see Naru rolling around in a type of "I can't do it" situation. "Whoa, this is bad," said Kitsune. "Naru BARELY does the Roll of Panic. This must be serious stuff. You sure you have nothing to peek into her mind or find out what she's keeping from us?"

"None," said Negi. "I have Pills of Magical Essence but we'd have to force a truth serum down her throat for that to work. Aaaaand, there's a slight chance she'd be allergic to it."

"Well then, time for me to do my thing," said Kitsune with a grin as she stood up, straightened her shirt and swung the door open. "NARU!"

"ACK!" Naru jumped a meter and whirled on her best friend who grinned and said, "Hey girl what are you KEEPING from me!"

"Kyaaaaah! What makes you think I'm doing that!" cried Naru but Kitsune practically jumped onto Naru, tickling the reply out of the other girl.

"C'mon, stop hiding stuff from your big sister!" laughed Kitsune.

"Kyaaah, what are you, Su?" cried Naru as the pair flailed around. Negi sweated.

* * *

"No. Freaking. Way. Eva-chan, a vampire?" asked Kitsune.

"I heard of this vampire actually," said Kamo thoughtfully as the conversation had took place in the foyer. "Look here." Pulling out a laptop, he opened up the screen and connected to the internet. "The bounty is cancelled right now, but I ran a search for the girl's name. One hit for Evangeline. Evangeline A. K. McDowell, S Class Criminal. Pure Blooded Daylight Walker. That's a vampire that can wander around during the daytime without having to worry about becoming extra crispy. Other aliases include The Dark Evangel, The Dark Angel, and even The Undying Magi. She's Dracula-hard to kill. There's reports of her getting blown nearly to BITS and she comes back to kill the opponent in FIVE SECONDS."

"Who would have thought Eva-chan was this dangerous," said Naru. "It's my fault."

"Is not," protested Kitsune. "Think about it. She befriended us. Sure she likes to attack people, sucking blood and all that, but really. It's not your fault for being her friend."

"Kitsune is right," said Motoko. "Kamo-kun, what is the status on Evangeline at the moment?"

"Looks to me that she's registered in the care of Konoemon Konoe, Konoka-chan's grandfather. As something of a security guard. I think for now, she's safe because her powers wax and wane with the moon."

"It will be a crescent moon in a day or two," said Motoko.

"Uh huh, and she'd be practically powerless there," added Su.

"So, what do you think?" said Kitsune.

Naru tapped the keyboard, looking at the list of crimes Evangeline had done when Shinobu said, "You know, if you're so worried, why not ask her to stay here?"

"Eh?" chorused the girls and Shinobu flushed. "Well, you could keep an eye on her, being that Evangeline-san is your friend, right? And friends stick together, even if they're creepy blood-sucking vampires."

"Sounds like a plan actually," said Kamo. "Maybe we should go ask Konoemon if she can relocate here then."

"C'mon Naru," said Kitsune with a grin. "It's not like you to be all depressed. Lets do this, okay?"

Naru smiled. "Oh you guys. All right."

"Yay!" cheered Su. "I'm going to study a vampire!"

"No Su, no dissection!" cried Shinobu.

* * *

_"Mahora, next stop, Mahora."_

"Here we go," said Naru as the doors opened up and they stepped out into the sunlight and the small assembled group of Hinata House residents looked around at the European-styled buildings. It was full of life with people coming and going, the clean white walls of various buildings shining down with flower beds dotting the area. People set up shop across the way with numerous stands and clothing and school outlets that were made to look as a old style district. In the distance, the large World Tree loomed with a visible crescent moon hovering near it and the sun beating down from high above. In all, it was picturesque.

"Wow!" said Shinobu. "It's so pretty here!"

"Mahora Academy was designed to look like an old European town." Said Kitsune as she shrugged off her jacket, revealing her Fox Hound top and leather pants. "C'mon you guys, lets get going!"

"Kyyaaaah, but can't we go shopping first?" asked Shinobu, wide eyed and staring at everything with Sarah.

"Sounds like we could do it," said Negi. "Naru-san?"

"Mmm... okay, Kitsune and I can go talk to the Headmaster. Shinobu and Sarah go with Negi and Kamo-kun, they've been here before. Motoko and Su, you guys can do whatever you want as well."

Motoko nodded as she shouldered her sword. "I'm going to go look in on Urashima's class. Perhaps speak with Setsuna for a while."

"I'll go with you! Satomi's there too," cheered Su.

"Aw, I gotta stick with the dork?" said Sarah but grinned.

Naru fished some money out of her purse and handed it to Negi. "Treat them to the crepe stand, okay?"

"Right. C'mon, lets go and enjoy ourselves!" cheered Negi and the three ran off.

* * *

"Which way is it to 3-A?" asked Motoko of a passing by student. The student pointed down the hall and Motoko bowed politely. Heading to the room, a soft voice flittered through the walls.

"All right, whoever didn't get six points or more have to stay for a repeat exam! The answers in the multiple choices are A, D, C, E, B, F, A, B, B and C. Now who made it over six points?" There was a pause and then the voice giggled. "All right, you can all go. The rest must stay behind, all right? Class dismissed."

The girls poured out of the room and Su immediately pounced on Satomi's shoulders. "SATOMI!"

"Ack, Su!" said Satomi, nearly toppling over from the weight of the taller girl. "What are you doing here? The Red Moon isn't here till five months later."

"I came to visit you!" grinned Su. "Hey, Motoko, find your lover?"

Motoko went red and sputtered, "SU!"

Setsuna went red as she heard the comment and there were numerous giggles from the girls. Konoka patted Setsuna on the shoulder as the kendo-ka sighed and regained her pale complexion. "I am surprised to see you here, Motoko-sempai," said Setsuna politely. "Is something the matter?"

"I... came to visit really," said Motoko, feeling uncomfortable. "Naru and Kitsune are meeting with the Headmaster and the rest of us followed.

"But do you not have class today?" asked Setsuna and Motoko coughed again.

"Motoko and Shinobu and I called in sick," grinned Su and Motoko coughed into her hand violently in order to hide her embarrasment.

"Anyway, is Urashima here?" asked Motoko curiously, still flushed a deep red in complexion.

"No actually," said Konoka cheerfully. "We have a substitute."

"And for once, I didn't get less than six off the bat!" proclaimed Asuna as she held up a test paper that was labeled with a eight. "She's really awesome, and explains things enough so I can figure things out!"

"You like her because she taught us how she does Multiple Choice questions," teased Konoka, holding up a pencil. Around the eraser there were markings of numbers of one through six. "Apparently, it also works for mathematic questions and other answer keys."

Asuna went red at the implications. "So I'm not good at anything that requires brains, okay?"

"Who is your substitute teacher?" interrupted Motoko in order to prevent Asuna from exploding from embarrassment. Konoka pointed behind her and Motoko turned and seemingly turned into stone. "T... turtle..."

"Myuh," greeted Tama-chan from the door as Mutsumi issued the next group of questions from the front of the room.

"Who is that?" asked Su curiously as she hung off of Satomi's shoulders.

"That is our substitute, Miss Otohime Mutsumi and Tama-chan," said Satomi. "Yes I know it's odd, having a girl and a turtle teach but still..."

"Odd must be the theme of the week," remarked Asuna. "Between Keitaro-sensei being down for the count and a turtle and another Tokyo University Ronin teaching us, it's becoming something an odd week."

* * *

"What do you mean Eva-chan can't come back home with us?" demanded Naru.

"I am sorry but due to the Infernal Scholastic Curse, she cannot LEAVE the grounds of Mahora," said the headmaster. "Not without invoking a very complex ritual and I'm afraid Nagi Springfield had put too much magic into the curse. She has been here for sixteen years."

"Really, huh, she holds her age well," said Kitsune with a scowl. "But seriously, do you really think we couldn't find a way to bring her out?"

"I have no doubts about it, but the possibility is slim," said Konoe. "I'm sorry but I have to say that it is impossible for now. Even still, Evangeline has served us well in the past and I'd be loathe to give her the space she desires elsewise she wreck havoc across the land."

"So she's tied to the land, right?" said Naru. "Couldn't you, I dunno, make a connection BACK to Hinata House or something?"

"Slightly unheard of but possible," said Konoe. "I will look into it, mind you but you do realize Evangeline is a powerful vampire mage, do you not?"

"Yes, but when has that stopped us?" said Kitsune with a grin. "Look, I'm sure you can do something with all that magic floating around the area. I mean c'mon, someone's gotta be blind not to notice the weird that happens here."

"All right," sighed the Headmaster. "I will see about finding a way to changing the curse. Please, feel free to wander around and use this to get settled in if you wish to stay overnight." Reaching into his desk, he handed the pair a keycard. "It is the keycard to the visitors rooms in the girls dormitory."

Feeling put off, Naru followed Kitsune out the door. "I dunno," said Naru. "He really wants to keep Eva-chan here. I'm sure he could probably find some way to make it happen but as it stands, we're not going to be seeing her in the halls of Hinata House for a while."

"Mm," said Kitsune. "So, where do you think our kids are?"

"Probably around here somewhere," said Naru. "Crepe shop?"

"Maybe the first place to see considering Eva-chan may be there as well."

* * *

"Myuh?"

"Mmm..." said Keitaro as he stirred. "Wha? What day is it, Tama-chan?"

"Myuh," said Tama-chan, pointing towards a calendar on the wall as the date read July Seven. Keitaro sighed and collapsed back into bed. "Myuh?" asked Tama-chan.

"I'm fine, Tama-chan," said Keitaro. "If really hungry. I think I can get something to eat."

Sitting up, he rummaged around on the top of the desk and then his hand came down on a pair of items. Picking up his glasses and the small box, Keitaro focused on the box and then smiled, opening the top. "I remember this," he said, holding up the gold ring. "I haven't worn it for a while since the uproar, but maybe today is a good day for it."

The simple golden band was marked with an inscription that read "Merry Christmas." The Christmas before, he and Konoka had met up with the granddaughter of the original Santa Claus and together, they went delivering presents. At the end of it, Mai left them their Christmas presents, presumably from herself and Santa as she pulled it right out of her endless bag. Konoka had given the gift to Setsuna while he held onto his since everyone else was attacking him and forcing eggnog down his throat.

After a quick shower and a rice ball, Keitaro stepped out into the sunlight with Tama-chan on his heels. Dressed in a sharp set of black pants and a shirt with a silver cross and a long white over shirt, Keitaro fixed the ring on his right hand and ran a hand through his hair. "Lets get something to eat, Tama-chan."

"Myuh!" agreed Tama-chan.

* * *

"Welcome to Ichiraku's," said the girl as Keitaro sat down. "Is there anything you want?"

"I'll have a beef ramen, extra large please," said Keitaro as his stomach roared in agreement. The girl nodded and she and the older man went to work. Ichiraku Ramen was a small stand near the campus on the outskirts of the shopping district. It was here where Keitaro usually found himself eating out considering his lack of finances at times. After two days of being asleep, his stomach roared and his wallet ached. When the food was set before him, Keitaro dug in with a gusto that belayed his hunger.

The owner, Ichiraku Sarutobi laughed and said, "You look half-starved there, Keitaro-san. So were the rumors true?"

"Rumors?" asked Keitaro, noodle stuck to his mouth.

"Yeah, the rumors," said Ichiraku. "The kids have been saying you got attacked by the Cherry Blossom Street vampire."

"Oh..." said Keitaro, his mood taking a slight dip. "Yeah, it's true. I just woke up an hour ago."

"Hmmm," said Ichiraku. "Lots of stuff going on in this place. I know it's not normal having this many oddities but still, one has to wonder what really is going on here. Here, have a couple more bowls on the house. You look half-starved."

"Thanks," said Keitaro gratefully as Ichiraku also served up a small bowl for Tama-chan. "Your Ramen is always good, Ichiraku-san."

"Aw, it's just a family recipe," laughed Ichiraku. "Said to have been passed down since before the Feudal Ages. They say the Emperor himself stopped by on his travels but I'm not sure how true that is. Ayane, can you please go and get more noodles?"

"Sure," said Ayane, his daughter and helper. She was a girl of twenty-four and of a slight build with a pleasant expression. "Nice to see you up, Keitaro-san."

"Thanks," said Keitaro.

"Yeah, I dunno what's going on here," said Ichiraku. "I'm on the verge of calling this place a magical hotbed and go from there. Or at least a weirdness index. I mean look at the World Tree for example. Who in their right mind grows a tree nearly two hundred feet tall, that large and doesn't get it into the Guinness Book of World Records? I tell ya, people from all over congregate here and it gets odder each year. As for me? I'm enjoying myself here as it's been our family home for years."

"It defiantly wouldn't be the same without you, Ichiraku-san," said Keitaro.

"I have no doubt about that. Hold on there," said Ichiraku as the door jangled. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen."

"Oh me oh my," said Mutsumi as she walked in. "Hello Ichiraku-san."

"Ahhh, Mutsumi-san. Keitaro-san, I'd like to introduce you to the girl who was covering your classes for the last two and a half days. This is Otohime Mutsumi."

"Pleased to meet you," said Mutsumi politely.

"One Watermelon Ramen?" asked Ichiraku and Mutsumi nodded.

"Yes please," she said, sitting down and fishing out her wallet.

Ichiraku shook his head and said, "How many times do I gotta tell you, Mutsumi-san? Your money is no good here. My sales have tripled when you introduced the idea of a Watermelon Ramen so I owe you instead of you owing me. Take it, you deserve it."

"Thank you," said Mutsumi cheerfully.

'She's pretty,' thought Keitaro to himself as he worked on his second bowl of noodles. Mutsumi looked over and said, "Oh are you married?"

"Me?" asked Keitaro and even Ichiraku paused at the sight of the golden ring on his finger. "Oh, no, this was a Christmas Gift from a friend."

Ichiraku set down the Ramen and Keitaro looked at the Ramen with floating chunks of watermelon in there. Quirking an eyebrow at the way Mutsumi seemed to get sparkly eyes at the sight, he went back to his own bowl.

The door jangled again and Ichiraku looked up. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen."

"Hi there," said Naru as she and Kitsune sat down. Naru looked at Keitaro and blinked. "Hey, Ronin-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"Just eating," said Keitaro as he worked on his third bowl. "I've been unconscious for a while and I'm starving."

"You okay?" asked Naru in concern and he nodded.

"Keitaro-san here got walloped by a vampire a few nights ago," said Ichiraku. "So what'll it be?"

"Wait, so you really DID get attacked by Eva-chan?" asked Kitsune in surprise. "Oh, two shrimp."

"Eva-chan? I barely remember the face of my attacker, only that the person was soft." said Keitaro.

"You pervert," said Naru with a glare. "You get attacked by Eva-chan and all you can think about is how soft she is?"

"Er," said Keitaro, hoping he wouldn't be able to finish his meal before Naru smacked him out the door.

* * *

"I thought as much," said Kamo as he, Negi, Shinobu and Sarah walked into the room. "This is an apothecary. That's sort of a chemistry supply depot for wizards."

"Some of this stuff is kind of creepy," said Shinobu as she looked at the things set all around the area. "Basilisk Venom? Wings of Harpy?"

"Powdered Monarch Butterfly, Bezoars," read off Sarah. "I feel like we're in _Harry Potter_ all of a sudden."

"Just no Quidditch Jokes," said Negi with a laugh as he looked over the store shelves. "I'm not too good at potions myself."

"Instant love potion mixes," said Shinobu and she blushed. "Are those illegal?"

"Not really," said Negi. "Well, in most countries it's more of a gag potion than anything else. It excites the emotions and attraction of the opposite sex to the drinker for about fifty minutes but it wears off soon afterwards. It really depends on who takes it, and how long their body can burn off the effects of the magic."

"Still, I doubt I'd want a horde of guys chasing after me," said Shinobu, still blushing.

"Enhancement pills," said Sarah, turning it over in her hand. "Free samples."

"Um, I wouldn't," said Negi and Sarah gave him a look.

"I definitely know what these do, Negi," said Sarah with a smirk. "Maybe I'll just make you nervous for a while and take a free sample."

"Er, that's not for kids," protested the Shopkeeper who was staring at them in open-mouthed shock. Three kids walked into his fairly hidden shop without going through the mundane wards? One was a wizard he could tell from the staff, but the other two only had faint auras of magic.

"Great, then I'd have to explain to Naru-san why you suddenly have breasts," grumbled Negi and Sarah gave him the American finger. Pride wounded, Negi replied with the Japanese Red Eye.

"These ones," said Kamo, picking up a bottle. It was filled with red, green and blue and yellow pills. "These are Age Deceiving Pills."

"Those are a good seller right now," said the shopkeeper. "It casts an external illusion around the one who takes it, changing the person to a specific age in mind. They're on sale now for 400 Yen."

"I'll take it!" exclaimed Kamo, pulling out a bill. "You have to pay so much on Mahou dot net for these!"

The shopkeeper nodded as he rung up the sale. "International shipping costs, problems with overseas mail, that sort of stuff. I'm probably the only one who can actually sell these things without paying lots of taxes, Tarriffs and at the recommended sale price instead of an unholy 10,000 yen."

Bagging up their purchases, the trio left the store. Out in front of the store which was thankfully hidden in a side road, Shinobu pulled the bottle out of the bag and read off the instructions.

"Each Age Deceiving Pill is color coded for a longer age range jump. Green pills will allow an age jump of between ten to fifteen years. Blue pills will allow the jump between fifteen and up. Yellow reduces age by about fifteen years. Red will restore the person back to their original age. Recommended use of a maximum of ten pills a day. Please note that it is recommended to do this in your underwear as your clothing may or may not fit after the dramatic shape change."

"Heh," said Sarah. "Sounds like a lot of fun. I wouldn't mind being twenty for today."

"We'd need to get you clothes," mused Shinobu as she checked her pants and her Cabot sweater. "I think I could manage twenty one in these clothes. Pants might be a little tight..."

"What about you, Aniki?" asked Kamo. "Wouldn't you like to be older?"

"Um, I haven't thought about it but maybe I could go for sixteen," said Negi. "At the very least I won't need to get too big of clothing."

"Hey Shinobu, try the first one," said Sarah as she popped the lid. "You said your clothing should fit, right?"

"It should," said Shinobu, suddenly embarrassed. "But here goes." She took the pill and swallowed, the smooth capsule going down easily. There was a tremendous poof of smoke and then Shinobu looked down at herself and then at Negi who was no longer eye-height and Sarah who was tiny. "Wow," she said, finding her voice a rich soprano. "Everything smaller."

"How does it feel?" asked Sarah as Shinobu checked her reflection in the store window.

"It feels real," said Shinobu as she poked her cheek. At the age of twenty one, her hair flowed down to her back. Her childish face was a bit sharper with the effect of aging. And Shinobu winced as her panties pinched and her bra felt like it was going to explode. "Um, I think I need new underwear."

* * *

"How do I look?" asked Shinobu as she stepped out of the changing room. Negi's eyes lit up at the look the girl had put together. Her old Cabot sweater still fit her, though the arms went up to her elbows. She wore low-hipped pants and sandals that could be adjusted to her smaller normal feet. Her hair had been put up in a ribbon and she wore matching earrings.

"Beautiful," he and Kamo chorused and Shinobu blushed prettily.

"Stop blushing, dork," grinned Sarah as she launched herself out of the adjoining room and kicked Negi in the head. The boy fell onto his back from the force of the kick and lay there, dazed.

Sarah took a pill as well. Standing at an age of seventeen since it was easier for herself, her hair was exceptionally long and she wore it in a ponytail that trailed out from under her baseball cap. Her overalls were now cut to fit her taller and more shapely body and instead of going with simply overalls, she added a tiny shirt and to Shinobu's insistence, a new bra that kept her new chest from bouncing out of the fabric. Sarah tugged at the top and winced. "Man, this thing pinches. I'm so not looking forward to when I have real boobs."

Shinobu giggled and helped Negi up. "Here you go," she said, pressing a pill into his hands and handing him a stack of clothing. "Try these on."

Negi was pushed into the changing room and there was a muffled explosion of smoke. After a few minutes, Negi emerged and said, "How do I look?"

"Kyah, Negi's a Bishonen!" cried Shinobu happily, flushing red.

Gone was the rounded boyish face and replacing it was a lean and handsome, almost pretty angular features. He wore a black shirt with a brown jacket and black pants. Around his neck he wore a cross and still slung over his shoulder was his wand and Kamo on the other. Removing his small glasses, Shinobu could see his vibrant green eyes. "Wow," said Negi and he laughed, his voice a wonderful tenor that would send girls into a frenzy. "This is awesome! I can't wait to show this to Naru-san!"

"You clean up pretty good, dork," smirked Sarah and Negi stuck his tongue out at her.

"So what do you three want to do with your newfound adulthood?" asked Kamo curiously.

The three grinned.

* * *

"We're going out for supper, Nodoka-chan," called out Haruna. "Are you coming along?"

"I'll be along in a few minutes," said Nodoka with a smile. "Go on ahead."

"All right, c'mon Yue." the pair headed out of the library as Nodoka turned back to her book.

"Mutsumi-sensei certainly gives unique tests," she said to herself. While most if not all of the class had gotten through Mutsumi's unique pop quiz with flying colors, it was a point of embarrassment that some of the smarter people didn't realize Mutsumi's technique was actually good. She herself only got an embarrassing five points before she tried the technique and it worked for her. The rest of the class soon left after that.

Letting out a sigh, Nodoka closed up her book and placed it into her bag. Tucking her pencil behind her ear, she gathered up her things and headed out of the library. The night air was beginning to settle and the sun was starting to dip below the horizon as she let the wind pass over her, rustling her hair and clothing.

The evening of Mahora City was still full of life, people gathered around and celebrating the summer. It would be another two months before the fall break before they returned for another three month semester and people were still partying all around the campus for the beginning of the summer since late May was fast approaching.

A group of students were stumbling around, laughing. One of them bumped into Nodoka and she fell to the ground with a yelp. Or rather would have hit if strong hands didn't catch her as she fell. "Are you okay?" asked a deep voice and Nodoka looked up at her benefactor.

For a moment, time seemed to stop for her as she looked into the handsome face that was smiling down on her. "You almost got knocked down there, Miyazaki-san," he said with a smile as he picked up her books and handed them to her.

"How do you know who I am?" asked Nodoka. She was certain no college-level guy knew who he was or anyone else in the boys section.

The boy laughed. "Miyazaki-san, it's me, Negi."

"Ehhhh?" exclaimed Nodoka in shock.

Nodoka soon found herself sitting around a table with Negi and two girls whom she realized were Sarah and Shinobu. The cabot sweater gave Shinobu away and the tomboyish air around Sarah was pure American. "How... did you three become... older?" stammered out Nodoka.

"These," said Shinobu, placing the jar on the table. "There's a magic shop here in the city and Kamo bought these Age Deceiving Pills."

"With MY money might I add," said Negi, glaring at the ermine with a beer.

"Feel lucky it was at original cost," said Kamo.

"You all look older, and you feel older," said Nodoka, tentatively poking Negi's arm. "How old are you three now?"

"The dork is sixteen, I'm seventeen and Shinobu's twenty one," said Sarah offhandedly as she sipped her drink. "These pills will last until we take a red one so there's no real problem with being older right now."

Nodoka found herself giggling at the thought of getting away with age pills. Kamo looked at Nodoka and then said, "Hey, Neesan, do you want to try one?"

"Ehh?" asked Nodoka. "But.. I wouldn't know how to do it."

"Simple, you just take and swallow," said Kamo. "Lets go and get her something to wear, Sarah."

"Fine, but Negi pays for this one," grumbled Sarah and she pulled Nodoka away from the crowd.

"There they go," said Negi, feeling his wallet getting smaller and thinner by the hour. "This is probably not going to end well."

Soon, the pair came back and Negi's breath caught in his throat. Nodoka had opted for an age of about eighteen and she was a stunning girl. Her young face had matured to an elegant beauty, not one that leapt out at you but it was flawless and one of those girls that you noticed when she took her glasses off. She was dressed in a spaghetti strap dress that went low around her back complete with sandals and a long sweater that had no shoulders and dropped like a coat. Around her neck was a pretty crystal and she had a bracelet around her wrist. "Beautiful," he whispered and Nodoka blushed prettily.

Shinobu felt a little bit of jealousy, even though she was happy that Nodoka was going to be pretty when she got older but fought it down. "Eighteen is a nice age," she said as she ordered up some shrimp skewers from the passing waiter.

"I feel different," said Nodoka as she sat down. Her hair had been pulled away from her face and she was blushing heavily.

* * *

"This is a popular restaurant for the junior high, high school and college crowds," said Asuna as she, Konoka, Satomi, Su, Motoko and Setsuna were sat down by the waiter who filled their water glasses. "Good food for cheap prices. Konoka and I have been here a few times."

"What is good in here?" asked Motoko, picking up the decorative menu.

"Well, if you want a lot of good food fast, you want to go for the Noodle Buffet. The chicken skewers are good and the steaks are amazing, if a bit more pricey than anything else since it is beef. There's a lot of food from around the world here and they try to make it affordable," said Asuna. "I like the Chicken Wraps myself."

"What is Toad in the Hole?" asked Setsuna, making a face at the name.

"It's sort of a wrapped sausage with other foods," said Konoka. "I think you'd like it, Sechan."

"I see," said Setsuna, still uncertain.

"Oh my god, they have Banana Takoyaki!" exclaimed Su happily. "Banana!"

Satomi chuckled and said, "I'm going to go with an American cut steak, twenty one ounces. As a kid, I grew up with steak as a delicacy since I live near the ocean and grew up on fish mostly."

"I cannot decide what to order," said Motoko and Asuna leaned over and pointed at a dish.

"Try that."

"Thai Chicken Salad. Sounds spicy."

"It is," said Asuna. "But it's not too spicy and it's really good. Konoka, what are you getting this time?"

"Mmm... maybe I'll take a little money out and go with the Cajun shrimp pasta. You?"

"Heh, I've always want to try their Canadian Baby Back Ribs," said Asuna. "Setsuna-san, what are you thinking about?"

"Perhaps I will just go with a traditional meal," said Setsuna and Konoka shook her head.

"This is the best international eatery in the city," said Konoka, shaking her head fiercely. "Here, I'll pick something for you. Lets see..."

"Er, that isn't necessary Ojousama," said Setsuna. Konoka gave her a look. "Very well."

"This one," said Konoka. "Feta Cheese Lasagna. This is an amazing food and you'll also get salad, bread and dipping sauce for the bread."

"I can attest to that," said the person from the next table and the girls looked over. Negi grinned, holding up his fork in salute. "Yo."

"Kyah, Negi-san?" exclaimed Konoka in surprise. "You look so handsome!"

"Don't encourage him, it'll go to his head," smirked Sarah from her part of the table.

"External illusions," said Motoko, realizing why they were older. "How was this managed?"

"Age deceiving pills," said Sarah. "Hey Nodoka-chan, say hello already."

"Wow, Hon-ya-chan you look so amazing!" gushed Asuna and Nodoka blushed, trying to hide behind her Vietnamese Soup. "How old are you guys now?"

"Sarah's seventeen, Nodoka's eighteen, Negi's sixteen and I'm twenty one," said Shinobu. "We had to be older to get into some stores since they're not about to sit a group of kids into a restaurant without adult supervision."

"Can I get a couple off of you guys?" asked Konoka.

"Me too! I wanna use it a lot!" added Su and Satomi nodded as well.

"There's a store on Fourth and Seventh," said Negi. "We can go since they're a twenty-four hour apothecary."

"Four and Seventh, of course," said Setsuna thoughtfully. "Bumblebee's Apothecary, the twenty-four hour market. I was under the impression they couldn't get Age Deceiving Pills yet."

"They just did," said Negi.

"And thus the 3-A weirdness index goes up some more," said Asuna with a sigh. "I think we need a drink."

"Cheers," said Konoka, downing a pill and drinking from her soda.

There were two simultaneous poofs from Asuna and Konoka as Konoka giggled. "Look at me! I'm twenty five!"

"You look very beautiful Asuna-san!" added Negi and Asuna fought the urge to pound him on general principle.

* * *

"Are you two all right?" asked Motoko as Konoka and Asuna weaved. "You didn't get anything alcoholic, did you?"

"Naw, we're just a bit giddy, right Asuna?" giggled Konoka.

"Yeah." giggled Asuna as the pair weaved towards the dorms. "I need sleep, g'night!"

"Uh oh," said Kamo as he checked the label. "Warning, do not take with carbonated drinks. Side effects involve longer lasting age effects and slight intoxication."

"This won't end well," said Satomi.


	10. Chapter 9 : Fight! Grand Battle of the

Love Negima!

Ken Akamatsu created Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima. All characters are used for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 9 : Fight! Grand Battle of the Bridge!

* * *

"Where is he? He's late," said Naru as they stood around the train station, the only thing left running in and out of the City at the moment except for private vehicles. "He's not usually like this." 

"I have felt an odd stirring on the wind," said Motoko. "Perhaps something is happening."

"Hmm," said Negi. Undoing the straps on his staff, he jumped onto it. "Tell you what, I'll go look for him."

"All right, stay sharp," said Sarah with a grin. "This is like out of something like say Resident Evil."

"Um, okay,"said Negi, unnerved as Kamo climbed up to his shoulder.

* * *

"It's quiet," said Negi as he flew across the skies. "Nothing of the sort around." 

"There's supposed to be repair crews here," said Kamo. "Hey, Aniki, look down there!"

"Hmm? There's someone down there," said Negi. Putting his staff into a dive, he flew down to the roof and leapt off. "Hey, Keitaro-san! What are you doing here?"

"Negi Springfield," said Keitaro and Kamo was immediately on edge from the tone of voice. "The mistress invites you to a duel."

"Negi! He's in a thrall!" exclaimed Kamo and Negi's staff was in his hands immediately. Keitaro looked up and chuckled, his eyes full of a deep blue light.

"Very perceptive," said Keitaro and Kamo startled. "But this is a very special thrall. You see, for the duel, I will act as the Ministra Magi. I cannot feasibly do it without being of some mind and body."

"This isn't a thrall it's more like possession," said Negi. "All right, where at?"

"The bridge," said Keitaro, indicating the bridge connecting the main entrance hub. "Come, we will go now." With that, he launched himself into the air, and bounded away across the rooftops.

"Definitely a semi-possession," said Kamo as Negi launched himself into the air as well. "Keitaro can't do that."

"What can I do?" asked Negi in a worried tone. "I can't fight against Keitaro-san."

"Better him than some battle-hardened Ministra Magi," said Kamo. "C'mon, lets get going."

* * *

"He's been gone too long," said Naru, getting up. "I'm going to go looking for him." 

"It's not going to be easy, stumbling around in the dark like this," said Kitsune. "Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Naru shook her head. "Not a clue."

Just then, Su gasped simultaneously with Sarah and Shinobu. "Negi," they chorused.

"Something's wrong," agreed Motoko. "This darkness is all wrong. Lets get going."

"I am afraid I cannot allow that," said Chachamaru as she hovered overhead with a whine of engines. "You see, mistress has plans that must not be interrupted."

"What the heck," said Kitsune and Naru growled.

"So you're some kind of crazy robot? Well far be it from us to back off!"

"Please, I have no intention of fighting," said Chachamaru. "But if you must persist, I will."

"I have heard enough," said Motoko as he drew her sword. Chachamaru dropped to the ground and there was a brief blip as she slid into a fighting stance.

"Well, I can't let my buddy Motoko have all the fun," said Su, pulling out her card. "Adeat!" Her weapon appeared and she grinned. "Bet you didn't expect this!"

"Adeat!" added Sarah and her swords appeared in her hands.

"Um, Adeat," said Shinobu, her frying pan coalescing into her own hands. Naru, Kitsune, I'll cover the escape."

"Ministra Magi, Shinmei Ryu Swordswoman, threat level A. Releasing safeties." said Chachamaru. There was a hiss of steam and then her hair turned blue. With that, she launched herself at Motoko who flung herself at Chachamaru in the same instant.

"Go!" called out Sarah as she unhooked her other sword and she ran into the fray. "We'll cover your escape!"

"You three be careful!" called out Naru as she and Kitsune ran away, Shinobu deflecting any debris that flew in their direction.

* * *

"WHOA!" 

Steel clashed against paper fan and Setsuna stared at Asuna who stared back. "Er, sorry," said Asuna, lowering her harisen. "You felt it too?"

"That unsettling sensation," said Setsuna with a nod. "Yes, I did."

"Sechan," called out Konoka who ran up with Nodoka, Yue and Haruna in tow. "What's going on?"

"We couldn't get into our room when we felt that weird pulse," said Yue. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's Evangeline," said Kazumi, coming around the corner with Tama-chan on her shoulder. In her hands was clenched the wand from the World Tree. "She's gained a lot of power, possibly all of it back now."

"So, the Dark Evangel walks again," said Setsuna. "Konoka-ojousama, I cannot allow you to come with me."

"But why?" asked Konoka and Asuna scowled.

"Hey, Setsuna-san, Konoka wants to help and she's pretty strong herself, if unfocused."

"But her spells are not even ready," protested Setsuna. "I could not bear thinking of you going into a situation of combat."

"We're not going to get around this arguing are we?" sighed Haruna. "Look, lets get to the roof first and then decide what to do."

At the roof, Haruna flipped open her artifact and in a shining flash, a vehicle appeared. "It's not pretty but it'll do. Everyone in, I'm driving."

With a thunderous roar of turbines, the engine took off. "Nodoka-chan, get out your book," called out Haruna. "I need you to navigate to where the fighting is."

"Okay," said Nodoka, pulling out her book with a call of "Adeat". After a moment of concentrating, she said, "The main event is at the bridge. There is a fight down near the train station but I think Motoko-san and the others are dealing with it."

"So to the bridge," said Haruna, steering the flying machine towards the bridge and she pushed the engines to full. The machine burst forward.

* * *

"I'm here," said Negi as he landed. Standing in the middle of a small crowd of students, Evangeline smirked. "Let them all go," he demanded. 

Evangeline ran a finger over the jawline of Akira and said, "Nope. They're here because they too are under my thrall. Lets see how long you can keep it up, little Magister Magi."

"But five against one? That ain't fair!" protested Kamo.

"Who said it would be five against one?" asked Keitaro as he landed and stepped back beside Evangeline. "Go to it, my students."

"Aw crap," said Kamo as the girls leapt as one.

"MYUH!" There was an explosion of flames and the girls dropped short of their target as the box-like ship dropped down and the girls leapt out of the vehicle. "Hold on there, Eva-chan," said Asuna. "We're here to stop you."

"Hmph, always the troublemaker, Kakurazaki," said Evangeline. "And Asakura. You too. I see. Well, perhaps you should deal with your classmates first!"

"Eh?" asked Asuna and then she found a arm wrapped with a ribbon. "Wha? EEEEEK!"

With a mighty swing, Asuna was pitched overhead and she hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud. "GO!" cried Haruna as Setsuna jumped into the fray along with Kazumi.

"This way," said Konoka as she and Yue dragged Negi to safety while Haruna landed the vehicle on the side of the road and she and Nodoka jumped out. "Do you think they'll be fine?"

"They should be," said Negi. "Those girls aren't really in a full thrall like Keitaro-san is."

Sure enough, the girls had been knocked out by the combined force of the others and Evangeline smirked. "Well... looks like your friends are good, boyo. But lets see how they handle this." She held up a hand and smirked viciously. "Oh Sensei, it's time for you to play."

Setsuna and Asuna flinched as Keitaro walked before Evangeline who smirked and held up a card that had Keitaro's picture on it. "No way!" gasped Asuna.

"Activate the contract, Ministra Magi Urashima Keitaro for ten minutes!" Laughed Evangeline and Negi squeaked in fear.

"Oh my god that's sick and wrong," he whimpered as Keitaro burned with dark flames. Konoka looked at him and he said, "Only Magi of really extraordinary levels of magic can hold a contract for that long at full blast. We're screwed. Haruna-san, get everyone else out of here!"

"But what about you?" asked Haruna.

"Do as I say! She's too powerful to take head on!"

Haruna grit her teeth but shouted, "Everyone into the ship!"

Piling the slumbering girls into the ship, Haruna jumped into the drivers seat as she waved to Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna. "C'mon you three!"

"We're going to stay here," called out Asuna. "Go, go!"

Haruna sighed as she hit the engines. The boxy ship launched itself into the air as Negi looked at the remaining three. "Why are you three staying behind?"

"Silly kid, you need help," grinned Asuna.

"Well then, lets keep going then," said Konoka. "Negi-san, how long can you give us power?"

"For you and Asuna-san and Setsuna-san, about fifteen minutes if I just add to your defense."

"It will have to be enough," said Setsuna.

The three girls pulled back and Konoka said, "Basic idea, we're going in to wear down Keitaro-sensei. I'm sure Evangeline is just pumping his power up so he can take hits."

"Better plan fast then," said Asuna.

"Right." Negi held up his own two cards and announced, "Activate the contract, Ministra Magi Kakurazaki Asuna, Konoe Konoka, Sakurazaki Setsuna for one hundred and fifteen seconds!"

"Adeat!" added Asuna as her harisen appeared in her hands and Setsuna tightened her grip on her sword.

"Nice light show," said Evangeline, unimpressed. "Go."

Keitaro's foot shifted and Setsuna yelped as she was blown back from an unseen force. "What the heck was that?" exclaimed Asuna and then she felt the force blow her back as well like a punch to the stomach.

"That was a move Seta showed us!" cried Negi but Konoka's shout of "FOCUS!" Snapped him back into thought as he held up his hand. "Rastil Maskil Magister...!"

"Lic Lac Li La Lilac! Twenty spirits of darkness!"

"Twenty spirits of light!" chorused Negi as they fired. The energy blasts erupted all around the fighting area as the girls were buffered from the fierce winds.

"Nice," said Evangeline as she held up her hand again. "Lic Lac Li La Lilac! Twenty Spirits of Thunder!"

"Rastil Maskil Magister! Twenty Spirits of Ice!"

"Not this time," grunted Setsuna as Keitaro lashed out with a kick and was blocked by Asuna on the other side. "Opening! Cutting Evil Blade!"

CLANG!

Setsuna gasped as Keitaro smirked from behind the large shield that had materialized onto his left arm. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" With a tremendous heave, he pushed the girl aside and then deflected Asuna's strike with ease as he launched a furious assault that drove Asuna to her knees.

"Asuna-san!" Shouted Setsuna but was suddenly grabbed by Chachamaru who had her in an iron grip. The girl looked a little beaten up but otherwise fine. Setsuna struggled against the iron grip and failed.

"Damnit, why are you doing this?" growled Negi.

"It's your father who cursed me in this hellhole for the last sixteen years," snarled Evangeline. "He said he would come and undo the curse, but he went and died. Well, if I'm going to escape, I need to drain the blood of a very powerful magi, like his son. Nothing personal, but you're going to have to die now." said Evangeline.

"Eva-chan... you're not serious, are you?" asked Asuna and Evangeline smirked.

"I think that's obvious," sneered Evangeline as she advanced onto Negi. "Hey, boyo, you should be proud. You're about to undo a curse. Be happy you're going to do something your father never did."

"HEY YOU!"

Evangeline turned and then she was struck by a large frying pan, sending her careening across the bridge, skidding to a halt. Shinobu panted and brandished her large frying pan. "No one touches him, especially not you!"

"I suppose that would have hurt," said Evangeline as she got up. "So Chachamaru didn't slow all of you down. A pity."

Asuna, siezing the chance, tossed her harisen to the other hand and with a yell, slashed across Keitaro who was dropped, slumping to his knees. The shield that he wore on his arm fractured and then splintered and Evangeline gaped. "What the hell!"

"Uh... what...? What happened here?" asked Keitaro. "Are we in a fight?"

"Yes, and the fight is still on!" shouted Evangeline as she flew backwards and held up a hand. "Lic Lac Li Lac Lilac!"

An explosion of wind erupted around the small group and Evangeline shielded herself from the ferocity of the blast. Inside, Negi was helped to his feet by Asuna. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I'm drained. No one has the power to match against Evangeline-san," said Negi.

"Then we'll have to put in a ringer," murmured Keitaro as he got to his feet. Naru caught him before he could fall over.

"You're in no condition to do it," said Naru sharply.

"What now?" asked Shinobu. "The rest of us don't have any artifacts that we could fight with and Negi-san's drained."

"Um..." said Konoka. "I'm still good."

"Konoka-chan, you don't know any spells," said Naru and Kitsune nodded.

"It'd be foolish," said Setsuna.

"There is one thing, but it hasn't been done before," said Kamo. "Keitaro! Kiss Konoka-chan!"

"GEH!" chorused everyone and Kamo continued. "Keitaro is still being powered by Evangeline! If he makes a dual pactio, one will override the other in the best case scenario or even better, grant him dual power! That'll be enough to deal with her!"

"Sounds like a plan," said Keitaro as he looked at the black flames wrapped around his body. "You up for this Konoka-chan?"

"Yes!" said Konoka. "If it'll help us deal with Evangeline-san..."

"There IS one problem," said Kamo. "It may not work, resulting in a Rebound."

"Rebounds are dangerous," said Setsuna. "Konoka-ojousama... could be killed as with Keitaro-sensei."

"And you didn't bring this up BEFORE!" Demanded Keitaro.

"It didn't seem like a big deal!" Protested Kamo and Naru grabbed the Ermine.

"How much time do we have?" she demanded. "I'll make the pactio if I need to!"

"Er... the Wind Barrier will hold for another two minutes," said Negi.

"Aneesan may be good," said Setsuna. "But a single pactio won't be enough."

Keitaro sighed. "Kamo... if there is a Rebound... is there a way I can take it?"

"Eh?"

"Just answer the question!" Keitaro snapped.

"Er... yeah. Just activate your artifact and it'll take it. Granted you won't be able to MAKE another pactio again but..."

"A minute fifteen," warned Negi.

"I'm willing to take the risk," said Konoka. "Sensei... lets do this."

"Are you sure? I won't let you die."

"You won't let me, that's the big thing. You and Sechan are the same," said Konoka, smiling.

"All right."

"PACTIO!"

When the wind barrier died down, Konoka stood in the middle of the road with Keitaro the others retreated to the background. Evangeline smirked as Chachamaru flew down next to her. "We have fifteen minutes to settle this. Lets see what you got."

"You'll do fine, Konoka-chan," said Keitaro, determination in his features.

"Right. Activate the contract, Urashima Keitaro for 120 seconds!" called out Konoka, holding up a card.

Evangeline gasped. "What? NO!"

There was a burst of black and white light that shot up from Keitaro's location. The black shield regained form on one arm and a white set of knuckles the trailed up to his arm formed on the other. Evangeline snarled. "So you dual pactioed, even knowing you could get hit by a Rebound. Cute, Konoka. Very cute. Lets see what you got! Lic Lac Li Lac Lilac!"

Konoka threw her hand up into the air as a burst of unfocused power erupted into being in her hands. With a wordless cry, she hurled the beam of light at Evangeline who countered.

"Twenty spirits of darkness!"

From Evangeline's hand, twenty black burst of light erupted outwards. From Konoka's hand, the thick blast of wild magic blasted out as Keitaro met Chachamaru into the middle of the battle field.

"Lic Lac Li Lac..." chanted Evangeline but found several spears of wild magic heading towards her. "So soon!" she gaped and she was forced to terminate the spell. "Hm, she's a quick study. But it's like fighting an amateur with a bazooka."

"Konoka-san has to finish the fight soon," said Negi as Haruna patched him up. "She's expending magic without focusing it first. She'll run herself dry that way."

"Hey, Negi, what's that attack you use often? The disarming spell?" asked Naru.

"Um, that's the Flans Exclamanio."

"Got it. Hey, Konoka-chan! Use Flans Exclamanio!"

Evangeline laughed. "Disarming? Oh for petes sake. Lic Lac Li Lac Lilac! Spell of the thousand voids, dark mist engulfing all..."

"Flans Exclamanio!" Shouted Konoka, pointing a hand. From her hand a torrent of wind erupted, wild and unfocused as it buffered Evangeline around like a pinball in a tornado.

"We need to put a stop to this now," said Kamo. "Don't we have some kind of spell book we could use?"

"I have no idea," said Negi. "We're out of options."

"Oh me, oh my, I hope I'm not too late," said Mutsumi and the whole group jumped. Mutsumi, still a little girl, held up a spell book that Evangeline recognized. "Will this help?"

"GEH!" cried Evangeline. "What the hell are you doing with THAT!"

"It's the Book of Melusedek!" Exclaimed Negi happily. "Mutsumi-san, where did you get it?"

"Fu fu fu, it was in the room that Evangeline-san locked me in." Said Mutsumi cheerfully.

"This is just what we need!" Exclaimed Negi as he took the book and thumbed to the book marked page. "This is...! All right, stand back!"

"Aw crap," grunted Evangeline as she held up a hand begun her spell. But Negi was already fast into it.

A long string of Latin issued from Negi's lips as he formed the seals. Evangeline grimaced and continued chanting the spell to End of the World but Negi was faster. "INFERNAL SCHOLASTICUS!"

The ball of light that appeared in his hands seemed to thin for a moment before reality stretched itself. There was a sound of thunder rolling over hill and vale and then Evangeline was blasted by the power. Lights flickered on at that moment and there was a tremendous power surge that ripped every bulb on the Academy City to shreds.

Evangeline dropped to the ground and Chachamaru caught her. With a haggard cough, she said, "You win brat. Looks like you condemned me to an eternity here."

"I... didn't," said Negi as he handed the book back to Naru. "At least I don't think so."

"What do you mean?" demanded Evangeline.

"Well... the Infernal Scholasticus Curse is tied to land, right? Well, I sort of rerouted the spell."

"Explain," said Evangeline.

"Well, it was just an idea but in the phrasing of the spell, it said 'Bind one to the land of my choosing' so I decided that maybe it'd be better if you were bound to something else : the Hinata House. As such, you can come and live in Hinata House. At least that's what I THINK I did."

"Mistress we are currently five steps away from the electrical field," said Chachamaru. "Shall I step forward?"

"I'll do it," said Evangeline, getting out of her partners arms. Taking four steps forward, she took a fifth. Steeling herself, she took a sixth. There was a slight fizzle and a pop and Evangeline opened her eyes. Then, her power exploded outwards as she cackled maniacally. "OH YEAH! I'M SO CRAZY STRONG I'M A CHEAT CODE! AH HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I hope you placed safeguards," said Asuna and Negi rubbed his head in embarrasment.

Evangeline cackled as she let her magic fade. "Hey, boyo, even though your old man was an asshole, you're okay." She turned and smiled. "So... got room for one more at your dorm?"

"Eh? You really mean it?" asked Negi and Evangeline smirked.

"Boyo I'm TIED to your home now. I can travel there because there's a Mana Link trailing between here and there. That's why I'm not screaming in agony right now. So come on, chop chop, I want my stuff moved ASAP!" With that, she marched back onto the grounds of Mahora and pushed at Negi. "Lets go kiddo, times a wasting!"

"Looks like everything's going to turn out well," said Naru as Motoko, Sarah and Su ran up.

"Aiyee, please stop biting me!"

"Aw c'mon, you're more tasty than sensei was!"

"And I'm not tasty?"

"You're more salty than anything else. Negi is sweet."

"Okay, that's enough talking about bodily fluids!"

* * *

"Well, looks like this is good bye, Evangeline-san," said Keitaro and Evangeline grinned. 

"Hey look, I can still come back for your "Final Exam" and maybe this time I'll actually pass it for once," said Evangeline. "About that Contract though."

"Oh, um, well, yeah, um," stammered Keitaro and Evangeline snorted.

"Look, you have one of the rare few dual pactios now. Keep that Ministral of yours safe or I'll eat your head. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," said Keitaro, subdued.

"Everyone else? I'm about to head out after sixteen years in here. It's been fun and for anyone I bit, water under the bridge, okay?"

"But we'll miss you," sniffled Makie and Evangeline smirked.

"I'll visit. Yo, Chachamaru, lets get a move on!"

Chachamaru bowed politely as she shouldered a bag and Chachazero sat on her head. "Thank you for the memories everyone."

"Sorry I couldn't kill anyone," said Chachazero and some of the girls shivered at the frank statement.

"So," said Kazumi. "The villain gets off scott free and out of school. And we're down to twenty nine students. So what was that book you guys used anyhow?"

"You mean this?" asked Yue. "Just a legendary magical book that we found at the bottom of the Library Island."

"I was WONDERING where it got to," said Asuna. "Hey, Yue-chan, lemme borrow it."

"I don't think so," said Yue and Asuna's expression fell. "I'm using it for magical research, not making myself smart instantly."

"Eeeh? How did you know I was going to do that?" demanded Asuna and Haruna laughed.

"You're not Baka Red for anything, you know!" Haruna exclaimed.

"HA-RU-NA!" With an enraged cry, she tore off after Haruna who was laughing and running around.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Kazumi of Konoka. "Going to still keep partnered with Keitaro?"

"I have to," said Konoka as she looked at the card. "After all, he's a good friend. He's reliable, dependable..."

"Oh ho, sounds like someone is in love already," said Kazumi and Setsuna's expression went slack into shock.

"Aw, Setsuna's jealous!" added Kazumi and Yue added, "Kiss her, Konoka."

"Sure!" exclaimed Konoka and Setsuna blinked in surprise as the other girl practically jumped on her. Kamo stared for a moment before muttering "I doubt we'll Rebound" before drawing up a circle as fast as Erminely possible. Magic spun up from below the ground and Setsuna's card shone for a moment. Pulling away, Konoka giggled and Setsuna blushed and touched her hands to her lips. "Now you don't be mad, okay Sechan?"

"Konoka..." said Setsuna, her face burning red with embarrassment.

"Oh my god her outfit is so cute on this!" exclaimed Konoka, having snagged Setsuna's card from the air. In addition to the soft white wings, Setsuna also was dressed in a hakama bottom, a short white and red top that was open with sleeves that hung loosely from her arms, open at the shoulders and tied at the wrists with ribbons. And she had silver metallic bandages around her chest, baring her flat stomach. "Do it for me, will you Sechan?"

"I... I..." flushed Setsuna and then tore off, "KYAH I CAN'T!"

"Aw, Sechan! Come back!" called out Konoka as she ran after the girl. Haruna tore across the way from the other direction, laughing like Su as Asuna swung at her with her harisen.

"Idiots," was Yue's remark as Nodoka and Keitaro could only nod. Mutsumi could only laugh.

"Fu fu fu."


	11. Chapter 10 : The First Law

Side B : Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Mahou Sensei Negima and Love Hina are owned and copyright Ken Akamatsu and all affiliates. All characters used for their fullest extent for entertainment purposes only. Primarily Manga-verse. For more information on both series visit Wikipedia dot org because I'm not going to bother elaborating on characters already elaborated enough. Thank you.

Chapter 10 : The First Law

* * *

"Matter cannot be destroyed, only transformed. This is science's first law," lectured Noriyasu Seta as he pointed out the diagrams on the black board. It was not the first time that Seta had filled in for a science professor and certainly not the last time. To his credit, Seta was a skilled linguistic and had a strong grip on the science of this world. Clearing his throat, he tapped several diagrams and added, "These symbols were the old alchemy symbols of the past, designed to help scientists understand, break down and reconstruct ideas on how the world worked. Yes?"

A girl with dark hair had raised her hand and she cleared her throat. "Sensei, is it true that Alchemy once existed in the past?"

Seta chuckled. "If you are thinking of how Alchemy worked in say, _Fullmetal Alchemist_ then not really. But Alchemy was a science that used chemicals and other such inscribed designs that transformed matter from one side to another. Would you like a demonstration?"

The crowd of students murmured their approval as Seta went to a group of beakers. One of them appeared to have swirling mists inside of it, Nitrogen in a shatterproof beaker, one of the few things that had made it to Tokyo U intact via Seta's poor excuse for proper driving. "Watch closely," he said as he held up the beaker with the tongs. "This is Nitrogen in a gaseous state. Now see what happens once I expose it to air."

With a loud crackling sound, the nitrogen suddenly froze in the air as Seta uncorked it with tongs, startling people in range. "A rapid deconstruction and then reconstruction of base materials when applied to air. Liquid Nitrogen is a potent substance, able to freeze upon contact. When the liquid state is exposed to fresh air, the air around it shatters and compresses, the molecules expanding outwards and becoming a solid."

"So Alchemists were basically scientists who would experiment with the three major states of transformation, is that right Professor?" asked another, a guy in the front row.

"Exactly," said Seta, nodding his head. "Science's first rule IS of course matter cannot be destroyed but transformed. This applies to how the old Alchemists once said that 'for one to gain something, humankind must give up an equal amount.' And yes, it sounds similar to that new popular manga that has been appearing lately. Which is why scientists believed that lead could be transmuted into gold which makes sense since both share similar properties with the same basic atomic structure underlying both materials."

Seta clapped his hands, startling the ones who had actually begun to drift off despite his interesting lectures and called out, "All right! Your professor will be back tomorrow which means I won't be here. I'm certain he handed out some reading so please do it."

As the students filed out of the room, Sarah poked her head into the classroom and walked over, holding a package. "Papa, this came for you."

"Ah, thank you Sarah," said Seta as he hefted the large package. Weighing it in his hands and running a finger over the brown paper, he reached down and picked up a briefcase. "Lets head back to the van, okay?"

The weight of the parcel felt heavy, even to Seta as he walked briskly through the compound, Sarah riding on his shoulders in order to keep his pace from lessening. His steps came with a bit of an urgency to them as he rounded the corner and opened up the van's sliding door on the left side. Sarah immediately got off and plopped into the cot that was set aside for her. Seta absently noted that he would have to get a bigger one since Sarah was obviously growing. If she was like Tara, then she'd shoot up like a weed when she hit thirteen. She was nine years old right now and already showing signs of shooting up to Tara's insane near six foot height when she was done.

Sitting down and flicking on the lamp, Seta set down the case and with a flick of his fingers and a penknife, cut the bindings on the parcel. Unwrapping it carefully, he slowly revealed a large leather-bound tome that was decorated with a lion eating a sun. Seta inhaled slowly and exhaled sharply as he opened the first page and took out the note that he was certain was waiting for him.

Written in German but entirely legible to Seta, he read it silently.

_Herr Seta, if you read this then I have passed away and my Germanic estate has been in your care for some time. Or not. I know how you move around, ja? In any case, I wish to leave you with this. During the last few days of my life, I have succeeded in making something that any magical person would want. It's power surpassing the power of even the legendary book of Melusedek. You know what I refer to. The book contains a spelled map, leading to the location of the item as I have given it to a companion of ours. Take care. Daniel Elric._

Seta turned the page and the page glowed warmly for a moment. Sarah looked at the map that resolved onto the page like a holographic projection seen in science fiction anime. "Well well," he murmured. "Just as I thought."

"Are you going somewhere papa?" asked Sarah curiously as she poked at the image of the island."

"Well, I suppose so," said Seta cheerfully. "After all, it looks like there's an adventure planned out now."

* * *

Routine at the Hinata House had become slightly set in. Negi had pleaded with Evangeline in order to become her apprentice and while Evangeline had resisted, he had made a bet to best Chachamaru in combat. Evangeline had shortened the condition to "one blow". Surprisingly Negi showed enough determination to work his way through the fight and while not indestructible like Keitaro was, was able land a blow onto Chachamaru, albeit sloppily. But a blow nonetheless. The girls had been mothering the kid as of late as he stretched stiff muscles in the water.

Slender hands suddenly came up and Negi looked up into worried dark brown eyes. Shinobu sat behind him dressed in a swimsuit. "You look worse off without your shirt," she joked weakly, thoughts obviously remembering the beating Negi took. "How are you feeling?"

"Really sore," admitted Negi. "My magic is healing me faster but it hurts to move my shoulders."

Shinobu's wrists pressed into his shoulders and Negi hissed but did not move as she began to move the kinks out of his shoulders. "You should take better care of yourself. Naru volunteered to do this but she had to go to Sasaki."

Briefly, Negi wondered how the dynamics had so rapidly shifted in Hinata. Shinobu had been such a shy girl when he had first met but now it was like they were brother and sister at times. Although she had a tendency to smother him like Nekane did often, claiming how cute he was at times. It was curious to say the least, being treated like an adult once and then being treated like the little "chibi chibi" that Kitsune had affixed onto his name once. Then again, there were very few who would come into the baths and give him a massage.

"Are you sure you're not Master come here to torment me?" asked Negi curiously and Shinobu giggled, her face warm.

"Kitsune volunteered but I think she was interested in checking something else out for herself," said Shinobu, her face growing more warm. "Motoko is at her club meeting and Su, well..."

"Ah," said Negi, nodding. He remembered Su's massage machine. It was in the shape of an attack drone or something cause it beat the living daylights out of his back instead of massaging properly. Negi needed more time in the hot spring because of it.

"Lean against the rock, would you?" said Shinobu, slipping into the water. "Honestly you're such a kid at times, you know?"

"Since when have you suddenly turned into an Asuna-san and Naru-san hybrid?" asked Negi and Shinobu dug her elbow into his back. "OW!"

"Maybe it was the first time we met," said Shinobu. "Or when you and Sarah were arguing that day. Or perhaps it was the fight we bailed you out of."

"Oh. OW!" Exclaimed Negi but the pain eased up. "Ooooooooh, deeper please neechan?"

Shinobu giggled as she worked her elbow into his back and then alternated with her thumbs across his shoulders. "You have enough knots in here to last a lifetime of massages," she remarked. "Anything else to declare?"

"I hurt a lot," admitted Negi and he hissed as her thumbs drove themselves deep into his back. "Oooooooooooh."

"Hey, anyone in here?" called out a voice and Shinobu and Negi looked up at Sarah who looked into the bath. "Hey, dork-in-training! Papa's looking for you!"

"Send him in here, we're both decent," said Negi as Sarah yelled for Seta before entering.

Sarah crouched down to look at Negi and made a face. "Man who thrashed you?"

"Evangeline, I mean Master," said Negi, making a similar face. "I wanted to be her apprentice and well, things go out of hand."

"I'll say," said Sarah, shaking her head. "You look like you've been flapjacked, steamrolled and then served to a Balrog as an aperitif."

"Oi, Negi-kun!" called out Seta as he walked into the baths, his sandals clicking on the stones. "What happened to you?" he asked, stopping short.

"Master insisted on testing me before I became her apprentice," said Negi and winced as Shinobu dug her elbow into a new knot.

"Mmmm, she hasn't changed much has she?" remarked Seta, crouching down next to Sarah who was poking Negi's shoulder directly in the first knot she found. "Negi-kun, can I ask you a favor?"

"Like what?" asked Negi and he winced from Shinobu digging her thumb into a new fresh set of knots that had mysteriously appeared.

"Well, I need some help recovering a certain artifact on the island of Pararakelse. It's highly magical and quite frankly I need someone who knows how western magic works here. It's not hard for me to go to Mahora, in fact it's my next stop but Takamichi is overseas at the moment." Seta shrugged. "Sound interesting?"

"What sort of protection is on it?" asked Negi, feeling interested in the proposal. "Traps? Curses?"

"Probably some of both but the real kicker is the magical negation barriers around the ruins," said Seta. He took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled. "As you know, it takes a team to bring it down. I can do most of it but there are some things that require a presence and according to the book I received, some of it is keyed to your blood. Or specifically your fathers."

Negi nodded. "I see. Who else are you picking up?"

"Well," said Seta. "I was thinking Kakurazaki Asuna and bring along Urashima. I know that Konoe wouldn't let me take a student without at least a professor coming along. Asuna can easily get through the negation barriers and bring them down while Urashima has some unique talents that will let us get through."

"I guess it won't hurt," said Negi, standing up and wincing a little. "When do we leave?"

"Negi, you're still injured!" protested Shinobu.

"Hahaha, perhaps you could come along then?" said Seta. "I'm sure Sarah wouldn't mind, right?"

"Heh, better than the dork patrol," grinned Sarah and Negi stuck his tongue out at her.

"Er, well," Shinobu tapped her fingers together. "Er... I'm missing a lot of class but I'm sure it can be worked around, right?"

"Of course!" said Seta brightly. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Negi felt the impending sense of doom hit.

* * *

"It's been a while since I was on a plane," said Asuna as she leaned across the seats to peer at the sea of clouds moving below them. Beside her, Keitaro snored a little and she rolled her eyes at her sensei. "You doing all right there, Negi-bozu?"

"Fairly," said Negi as the plane shook and he gripped the arms of the chair. "I've never really liked planes too much. Although Seta-san seems well off." His familiar Kamo was already fast asleep, muttering to himself while curled on the tray despite the turbulence as they rumbled over the south pacific sea.

Sure enough, the older man was snoring in a manner similar to Keitaro, both with their mouths a little open and a thin line of drool running down the side of their cheeks with their heads tilted to one shoulder. Sarah was curled up in her seat, leaning against Seta. Shinobu was currently reading up on what was at Pararakelse and she was making faces at the thoughts of encountering leeches and snakes. Tama-chan Myuhed from atop her head, another note that the mascots had apparently decided to join the expedition.

"We should get some rest," said Shinobu finally, shutting the book and setting _A Guide To Pararakelse_ aside. "We're crossing the international date line to get there."

"Right," said Negi as he tilted his chair back a little. "Asuna-san are you going to get some rest?"

"Naw, it's okay," said Asuna as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a print out of the next few days work. It was easier than dragging heavy school books everywhere. "I'll just read this, okay?"

Negi nodded and shuffled into a more comfortable position. Within minutes, he was asleep as Asuna sighed and pulled the bookmark out of the novel she was reading. The bookmark was her own pactio card which still bore a picture of her in her school uniform with that giant sword of hers.

Shinobu noticed Naru examining it and asked, "Can I see it?"

"Sure, if only I can see yours." Shinobu grinned and handed over her own pactio card to Asuna who looked at it. The picture depicted Shinobu in her usual Cabot sweater and holding her giant frying pan with her flipping a pancake in it, a stark contrast to how Asuna's obvious weapon oriented design was.

"I've been wondering something," said Asuna after a moment. Reaching into Keitaro's pants pocket, she pulled out his pactio card, miraculously unblemished or creased from staying in there. "I thought so."

Shinobu leaned over and looked at the picture. Keitaro was wearing something out of _Fullmetal Alchemist_ with an outfit that was close to being a mix of Edward Elric's outfit. The long jacket could not hide the huge white knuckles that ran up his arm nor the shield that was on the other arm, ebony black in color. In all, it made Keitaro look more heroic than he usually was for the most part.

"I wonder why we don't get cute outfits like Setsuna-san or Keitaro?" wondered Shinobu and Asuna shrugged.

"I think it's because we haven't duel pactioed yet," said Asuna with a sage nod, trying to look wise. "Not that I'm suggesting it and all cause of the Rebound thing."

"Sempai looks liked Edward Elric," said Shinobu thoughtfully. "How does Setsuna look again?"

"Liked a winged Ronin from that _Disgaea_ video game Nippon Ichi made," said Asuna. "You know with the short jacket, ribbons, bare stomach, pants..."

"Ah, and I'm certain Setsuna doesn't like using the power of the card," giggled Shinobu.

"Setsuna-san doesn't like showing skin," said Asuna. "It's amazing the girl BATHES."

"I suppose Shinmei Ryu women are all the same; prudish and unable to admit feelings," giggled Shinobu and Asuna joined her.

* * *

"Here we are, sunny Pararakelse!" announced Seta as they disembarked from the national airport into the sub-tropical heat of the June heat.

"Whoo!" exclaimed Kamo, putting up a tiny umbrella. "It's hot enough to roast an Ermine alive!"

"Myuh," agreed Tama-chan and Keitaro shaded his eyes as they walked across the tamarack towards the airport. "Are we meeting anyone, Seta?" asked Keitaro.

"In fact we are," said Seta. "We'll be meeting the granddaughter of an old friend of mine. I'm certain she's around here somewhere."

As they milled through the disembarking gates, Shinobu was the first to notice the girl standing in the entry way, holding up a cardboard sign that read "Seta" in very rough Hiragana. "Seta, I found her!" called out Shinobu. And then she got a better look at the girl and blinked several times.

Asuna came up next to her and remarked, "So who cloned you?"

The girl had dark hair and a tanned complexion. She was dressed in a light colored top and summer jacket with a skirt that was knotted on one side. Despite all of this, the jarring effect that she and Shinobu looked EXACTLY alike even though the girl was a Pararakelse Native and Shinobu was Japanese. Of course, another jarring note was a very large turtle sitting next to her. Pink shelled and of the four legged variety instead of Tama-chan's floating variation as it Myahed happily.

Seta smiled and walked over to the girl. "**_Good to see you Nyamo_**," he greeted in English and she nodded shyly. "**_And you brought Gidget too._**"

"**_It is good to see you again Uncle Seta,_**" said Nyamo politely, bowing low. "**_I'm sorry that my grandfather has apparently made so much trouble for you._**"

Seta chuckled as he turned around and faced the others. "Everyone, this is Nyamo Namo, a resident of Pararakelse. Her grandfather was a dear friend of mine and please don't worry about getting mixed up. Her first name is Nyamo. Pararakelse has American naming schemes."

"Finally," said Kamo, throwing his little arms up into the air. "I keep forgetting whose name goes where."

Gidget looked at Tama-chan who raised a flipper and said, "Myuh."

"Myaaaaaaaaaah," replied Gidget, mouth watering and Tama-chan froze. In an instant, the larger turtle was chasing the smaller turtle in a manner that distinctly reminded Kamo of how Su acted around the turtle.

Negi stepped forward and bowed. "**_Hi, I'm Negi Springfield. Nice to meet you._**"

In a manner that was pure Shinobu, Nyamo put a hand to her mouth and hid behind Seta who chuckled. "Sorry about that Negi. She's a little shy with new people. Well, shall we get going? We need to check into the hotel before we plan our trip out to the Pararakelse Ruins."

* * *

"The Pararakelse Ruins was the center of the great turtle society of the ancient times when man and turtle lived in harmony," lectured Seta as they drove along in what Asuna was terming "The Van Of Doom". Seta seemingly careemed around an oncoming truck lazily as he continued, unperturbed about the near death experience. "Pararakelse has been a center of this turtle society although very few remains have been found. The ruins we are searching for must be found before we can gain entry to them."

"So how do we do that?" asked Asuna and Sarah smirked.

"Papa has a map that'll lead us there," said Sarah as she pulled out the large tome and opened it up to a bookmarked spot. Immediately the map sprung up from the pages, causing several occupants of the van to spring back in surprise. "See, this is where we are," she said, tapping the page where it showed a fast moving object on the west side of Pararakelse with several names crammed around it. "And this is where we're going. The Pararakelse Lagoon Ruins." She tapped a spot somewhere deep in the Desert of Death.

"This is amazing," said Negi, running a finger through the mountains that fizzed a bit. "In England and the western countries we used these maps to hide only the most secure stuff. It would detail EVERYTHING in a specific area since they were usually protected by spells that would hide it from practically everything. It's what inspired Rowling's Marauders Map."

"I'm sure you get a lot of Quidditch jokes riding on that staff huh, Negi?" said Keitaro with a wide grin, clapping the younger on the back.

Negi went red. "Yeah, well, Quidditch is made up. We don't play anything on broomsticks. We're more of the Football type of people. And despite what the Scotts say, Wales still rules them in magical education."

"American or English?" asked Shinobu and Negi and Kamo chorused "English."

"Although," added Kamo, "Rugby is more of our sport anyhow."

"What a violent sport," chuckled Seta as he hairpin turned on the road, causing everyone to smush up against the walls of the van. "And they got down on world warriors way back in nineteen seventy two for violence."

"Was that before or after Maxim Bison was overthrown?" asked Asuna rhetorically and Seta answered with a "Before."

As Asuna regained her equilibrium from smacking headlong into the wall in shock, Seta added, "The ruins of Pararakelse were designed that layer upon layer of protection were placed onto it. Only someone with a matching frequency in magical negation may be able to break them. Sarah, can you bring up a diagram of the ruins?"

Sarah prodded the side of the book and the diagram changed to reveal a multi layered three dimensional diagram. Circling and panning into the first layer, Shinobu peered at it and remarked, "It looks like a Stargate." At their looks, she blushed and added, "Momma and daddy brought me to see Stargate when I was ten. I've been importing tapes of the series since then."

"Okay so we have Stargates," said Kamo, leaping onto the pages of the open book. "What's this?" he asked, prodding a crystal that sat near the middle of the room but moved more towards the entrance to the room. "I'm guessing it's the form of that Dial Home Device that they have in the series."

"Yeah, as far as we can figure," said Sarah as she zoomed in. "But check this out."

Tapping the side of the book, the little book displayed a guy walking up to it and then taking up a big hammer, smashed it. The water in the Stargate thingy whooshed outwards and then vanished. "That's how we get in," said Negi in awe. "Look, there's light pouring down on it. It'll break when a certain condition is fulfilled."

"So we need keys to unlock it. Great. The old turtle people liked to play video games," groused Asuna.

"What do you think Nyamo?" asked Negi and Nyamo shrunk in her seat. "Ah, sorry."

The tiny image of Seta's van was now cutting a swathe into the Desert of Death and Keitaro inhaled and said, "Once more into the breach."

* * *

"Myuh," agreed Tama-chan as the van rocketed over a dune.

"It's beautiful," remarked Shinobu as the whole group piled out of the van, some stumbling in the sands as their legs cramped up from the long journey.

Standing before them was an absolutely huge rock monolith, towering overhead as tropical wildlife nursed their young. A crystalline waterfall poured over the edge of the tower, its source possibly from an underground spring as fish and other assorted shellfish swam in it. And around the waters edge were hundreds of turtles, all pink or green shelled and Myahing happily as they drank or played in the water.

"Well that's a sight for sore eyes," murmured Negi as he shook out his leg to keep it from falling completely asleep. "Where's the entrance anyhow?"

Seta handed him a backpack filled with tools as he said, "We're looking for a stone statue of a turtle, flippered hot spring variety."

"Myuh?" asked Tama-chan and Seta chuckled. "Well there's a lot of turtle imagery around here. I'm certain we'll be able to find it soon enough."

"Hey, um, Seta-san, I gotta question," said Asuna as they moved to unload the van. "Why'd you bring me along anyhow?"

"Ah, about that," said Seta as he pulled out a large sack of tools. "I was hoping you would be able to provide the necessary frequency to open up the gates."

"Dah?" asked Asuna, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

"Frequency," said Seta, drawing a line of waves in the sand. "The Pararakelse islands give off a natural magical frequency that sums up to magical negation. All residents have it, including Nyamo."

Nyamo nodded from where she was putting things on Gidget's shell and Kamo looked up as well from where he was putting a sign that read "pack animal" on Gidget's neck. Negi looked over at her and asked, "Nyamo-san has it?"

"Indeed," said Seta as he waved Nyamo over, he asked, **_"Nyamo, would you be willing to show them some magical negation?"_**

"**_Um... sure, I suppose. Negi-san isn't going to hurt me, is he?"_**

Seta shook her head as she nodded and stepped aside. Negi looked at Nyamo and said, **_"I'm going to throw a single magic archer burst. Is that all right?"_**

"**_Y... yes, of course,"_** said Nyamo.

Negi wound up, swinging his wand over his shoulder. "Raster Raskil Magister, Single Arrow of Light!"

Nyamo squeaked but held up her hand and the beam of light splintered against her open hand, causing no damage but the girl fell on her backside, only to be caught by Shinobu. "Amazing!" crowed Kamo. "She completely nullified the magic!"

"**_Er... is okay?"_** asked Shinobu of the girl in her arms and Nyamo nodded. Looking up she added in Japanese, "So when do we start?"

"Right now I suppose," said Seta as Keitaro called out from behind the waterfall.

"Just curious Seta-san, what are we here for anyhow?" asked Negi and Seta smiled.

"Why... the Philosopher's Stone of course."

* * *

"ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK ROCK!"

With a thud, the giant three eyed boulder slammed into the wall as the group ducked to one side, earning a moan from Keitaro who was mushed underneath. "Oh god I thought I was going to dieeeee..." he moaned from his position smushed into the soft sands of the ruins.

"It looks like the sand bore the impact," said Seta, poking Keitaro with a stick to dislodge him. "We should keep the book open so we'll be able to keep going."

Negi pulled out the huge book and Sarah practically clambered on his shoulders to look over them. "Looks like we need to go down the stairs and then we'll make our way into the first chamber."

After pulling Keitaro out of the hole in the sand, the group trudged downwards till the first chamber came into view. Filled with hieroglyphics of the turtlese civilization, the others ran hands over it as the crystal in the middle of the room was dark. At the end of it stood a huge glyph ring that constantly pinged various glyphs. The center of it was filled with a watery substance that shimmered. "By Ra," whispered Shinobu and Nyamo echoed it with the uttering of **_"Apophis be damned."_**

Shinobu looked at Nyamo and asked in English, **_"Watch Stargate?"_**

Nyamo's eyes lit up and she said in fast English, "**_Grandfather and I watched it all the time when I was little! The Pararakelse channels get it! What season are you at?"_**

Turning the words inside and out for a moment, Shinobu said, "**_Season three. I watch 1969."_**

"**_Oh goodness! I saw that today!"_**

Keitaro, the least literate of the group leaned over and asked Negi, "Is it me or are they fangirling about Stargate?"

"They are," chorused Kamo, Negi and Sarah. Seta laughed and the turtles Myuhed or Myahed.

"**_Notice turtlese look Gou'ald?"_** asked Shinobu and Nyamo smiled and giggled.

"Ah, here we go," said Seta as the room was suddenly filled with sunlight. The crystal began to glitter and he called out, "Girls, please step away from your Stargate first," and then repeated it for Nyamo's sake. Then turning to Negi and Asuna he said, "Negi, you have to power Asuna with your contract and then Asuna you must break it."

"All right," said Negi. "Ready Asuna-san?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Asuna as her harisen appeared in her hands.

After getting clear, Negi held up a hand. "Activate the contract for Kakurazaki Asuna for twenty seconds!"

Asuna felt the power burst all around her. Ignoring the tickling sensation, she wound up and smashed the sun crystal. The crystal faceted, flaked out and then burst with a brilliant explosion of light.

* * *

"_Where... am I?" wondered Asuna as she opened her eyes to the sound of a crackling fire. Surprisingly, she was sitting up and it was as if she had blinked for a moment. Then she took a stock of her surroundings as her head seemingly turned of its own violation. There sitting around the fire was a group of men and women, some of them unfamiliar, some recognizable. And the brown haired man in the middle that she sat close to was... who was he again?_

_"Hahahaha! I thought we were done for back there!" Laughed Nagi Springfield as the small group sat around the campfire. "At least we have good food, right?"_

_  
"Nagi you're a putz," said a blonde woman with a deadpan expression. "Sure we can sneak by them. No really, it's perfectly safe, Ogres have bad eyesight! Jerk."_

_"Hahaha, Tara, you're too hard on Nagi, don't you think?" Laughed Seta from the other side of the campfire._

_"He deserved it," snapped Tara. Asuna realized with a start that the lovely woman was indeed Sarah's mother. And Takamichi-sensei and Seta-san and Haruka-san were here too. Which meant that the Nagi she sat next to was Negi's father._

_"Maaa, can't we all get along?" Protested Nagi. "Takamichi, help me out here!"_

_"Oh no, I'm not pulling your ass out of the fire again, Nagi," said Takamichi. Not for the first time, Asuna marveled at how hot he was._

_"Gaaaah. Anyone?"_

_Haruka lit her cigarette. "Look we have a day till we get back to friendly territory. Can we NOT bother with trivial manners such as arguing?"_

_"I think she's upset," stage whispered the large man who sat behind Nagi. Nagi grinned at him for a moment._

_"True. Once you get Haruka-san mad at you, nothing can save you!" Pointed out Nagi and Eishun laughed from the other side. Another dark haired man cracked a small smile. Asuna thought he was handsome in a bishonen type of manner._

_Haruka snorted. "Men, all pigs. Say, Nagi, one of those girls out there claimed you were the father of her kid. So?"_

_Nagi rolled her eyes. "If the rumors were true, I'd be making kids since I was five."_

_"..." Offered a small blonde haired girl and Asuna looked at her. Asuna nearly jumped out of her skin as she recognized the vampire, Evangeline sitting there._

_"Aw Eva-chan, don't be like that," said Nagi with a grin and he ruffled her hair. "I'll be your husband when you grow up."_

_Evangeline merely produced a half-smile as she scootched over closer to the fire. Iiiinteresting, thought Asuna with a smile she couldn't produce._

_"It's getting late," said a man dressed in a casual suit. "Say Takamichi, want to take the first watch?"_

_"Me? Get Nagi to do it. He obviously has the stamina to still run in terror!"_

_"There's no problems then, we'll just Janken for it!"_

_"Right, but none of that baseball Janken crap," snorted Nagi as he rolled up his sleeves. "I don't feel like losing my clothing. AGAIN."_

_"One, two, three, shoot!"_

_Asuna found her little fingers throwing out scissors and Nagi threw up his arms in frustration. "Aaaaw, she threw out scissors again!"_

_"Tough! All right, which one do you want to take first watch?"_

_"... Nagi."_

_"HA! SUCKER!" barked Takamichi and the group laughed. Before Asuna could utter anything, the dark haired handsome man who sat near the fire nodded, smiled and tapped his fingers while holding up his own two fingers in the shape of a V._


	12. Chapter 11 : The Cause of Existence

-1Side B: Love Negima!

Written by Shaun Garin

Ken Akamatsu owns Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima. All characters used for entertainment purposes only. References to Fullmetal Alchemist and Naruto are owned by Arakawa Hiromu and Kishimoto Masashi.

Chapter 11 : The Cause Of Existence

* * *

For the most part, Negi Springfield got several days in advance of training from his new master Evangeline. Wake up, spend a day in her special resort from ten to eleven, return for lunch, work around Hinata House and then spend another day in the resort from three to four. This in turn had a habit of wearing out Negi but for the most part, everyone just ran with it.

In the resort, Evangeline taught Negi the art of hand-to-hand magical combat while at the same time taught him a little more about his father and his favourite moves. Currently Negi stood in the arena in the center of Evangeline's resort, practicing a move that his father apparently favoured.

"Is that it?" asked Evangeline scornfully as Negi's _saggita magica _blast didn't connect but the follow up of the Axe of Lightning spell reduced the can to a pile of melted slag. "Your father could use this move a thousand times and he still wouldn't get tired. True though that he had an obscene amount of mana but that's another story."

Negi slumped to the ground, panting. "Master, I'm very tired. We've been at this for nearly three days straight."

"Hmph," said Evangeline and she folded her arms over her ample chest. "Maybe you don't WANT to be my apprentice then."

"No no no, I didn't say that!" protested Negi wildly and Kamo-kun could only sigh and shake his head.

"Big brother, you're quitting now?" he said scornfully, injecting the right amount of disappointment into his voice. "And I thought it was all for the best."

Mean as it was, the Ermine and the Vampire had a point, Negi reflected as he got back to his feet and prepared another _saggita magica _on a freshly charmed can. The Axe of Lightning spell came from the Greek schools of magic, and was a mid-level high Ancient class spell. Out of the nine classes of spells, Negi had quickly learned that his father truly was the master of maybe five, six spells tops. One was the standard _saggita magica_ spell that was favoured by much of the magical community. The other was the Axe of Lightning, although Negi was certain he saw his father use another wide-spread destructive spell back when he was little.

"That's enough then," said Evangeline. "We're due out of this place in about ten minutes anyhow."

"Thank you for the training master," said Negi, bowing and breathless.

"Hmph, I wouldn't be doing this unless you really pleaded me to. Makes me wonder if I should take up that job Eishun wanted me to do."

"Eh? What kind of job?" The pair had gathered their things and were currently headed for the access port; a giant magic circle in a separate tower that was connected by a high bridge with no handrails. It unnerved Negi all the time when he had to cross the bridge.

"Eishun wanted me to teach his daughter magic but since I can't be in two places at once, it makes things difficult," said Evangeline flippantly. "I'm certain she'll handle things."

"But that's not very good," said Negi, worry creeping into his voice. "Konoka-san has those people from Kansai still after her."

"If you're so worried, why don't you go teach her?" replied Evangeline snippily as the trio stepped into the circle. In a flash of light, they appeared outside in Hinata House in Evangeline's room. One of the rooms on the third floor had been cleaned out and made up into a combo room for Evangeline, Chachamaru and Chachazero. Curiously Kamo and Chachazero had become fast friends despite the little doll's unnerving bloodlust. "After all, you can make the trip in an hour or so."

"Well, er," said Negi, stammering. "I just don't have a reason to keep going there all the time Master."

"Heh," said Evangeline as the trio headed downstairs. "I think you have a visitor."

Negi turned towards the door where Kotarou stood, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Negi," he greeted.

"Kotarou-kun," said Negi. "What are you here for?"

"What, can't a guy come and visit?" said Kotarou. "Speaking of which, I was wondering what you were doing today."

"Ah, well, mostly chores," said Negi. "The second floor needs a polishing and then the baths need cleaning."

Kotarou scowled. "Eh, Negi you're being a slave for these neechans. What's the problem with taking off once in a while and being a man in some good old fashioned fighting?"

"But…" said Negi and a cough alerted his attention to Evangeline who folded her arms.

"Take the day off," said the girl. "Come back with something useful you hear me?"

"Er, yes Master," said Negi and the pair headed out the door.

Kotarou looked at the closed door and the older blonde woman and said, "Master? Master in what?"

"Just martial arts," said Negi in a half-truth. "I saw someone who could fight really well and wanted to learn how they fought."

"That's cool. Martial arts is a man's art. Never forget that Negi," grinned Kotarou. "In fact, you wanna find a place where we could test yours out? Whaddya say, just a man to man fight?"

Negi rubbed his head and at the urgings of Kotarou and the little ermine who sat on his shoulder, he sighed and gave in. "Great!" proclaimed Kotarou. "Lets go, I know a place down near the river we can spar."

* * *

The fight to say the least was almost short and brutal after a fashion. Negi was down for the count much faster than Kotarou anticipated and the other boy stood over his downed victim with an expression that didn't say he was very pleased with Negi's performance. "What the heck was that all about?" Kotarou asked. "The way you fought left so many holes in your defence it was almost comical."

"Sorry," said Negi, rubbing his head and sitting up. In truth his fighting style was half-broken because of the lack of actual magical power in the battle.

"Geez, and you call yourself a man," grumbled Kotarou. Then, suddenly he looked up into the air and shouted, "DOWN!"

"Eh?" said Negi a moment before explosives catapulted him into the air. "What's going on? Are we under attack?"

"Che," grunted Kotarou as he rolled to his feet. "No, it's that crazy girl from your dorm saying hello."

Sure enough, Kaolla Su was flying down on a flying turtle, waving madly as it landed with a loud whine of jet engines. "Heyas Negi, short kid!" she exclaimed, dropkicking the pair and somehow landing the kick on Kotarou.

The other boy rolled to his feet and exclaimed, "What did you do that for, idiot woman?"

"Hee, you don't like my greeting?" grinned Su from where she sat on top of Negi.

"Er, Su can you get off? You're kind of heavy," grunted Negi and Su got off his back though not without a kick to the ribs for the weight comment. "Ow."

"So why're you here crazy girl?" asked Kotarou.

"I'm testing out my latest weapon, the Mecha Tama Mark Three!"

Sure enough the weapon itself was a giant turtle with bristled with armaments and was shaped like a four-legged turtle instead of the flying winged type. Although Kotarou himself hadn't seen this mythical flying turtle, he suspected it belonged to the current owner of Hinata House. There was a lot of legends around flying turtles although for the most part Kotarou dismissed it as he himself had no experience with anything regarding turtles.

"Eeeeh, looks like a piece of junk to me," scoffed Kotarou with a distrusting look towards the semi-cute yet weapon laden turtle. "Whose going to take you seriously being that it's a giant turtle mecha?"

"Eeew, you dismiss the awesome power of my Mecha Tama?" said Su. "Then you're just going to have to fight your way out of my testing!"

"No, wait Su!" shouted Negi but the turtle mecha fired several missiles that sent the boys flying.

* * *

"Eeeh, looks like someone's having fun over there," remarked Shinobu as she and Motoko carried the days groceries. Summer break had hit and the pair were off school as well as Sarah who was currently with her papa. "I feel bad that Mahora Academy isn't on break yet." 

"Mahora runs on a mix of an English school system as well as Japanese," said Motoko. "They won't be breaking till September."

"But that puts them in the fall," remarked Shinobu. "Wouldn't that put them out of joint with the rest of the nations schooling system?"

Motoko shrugged as another explosion resounded and there was a distinct pair of screams, both young boys. "I think the Headmaster has gotten that all worked out. Also, the school is on a ladder system so you get pushed up to the next grade no matter what happens."

"No way, that's a lot easier than testing for high school. I won't be doing that till next year."

Motoko nodded. "It will be good if you start applying yourself. I am in my second high school year now and plan to take the tests for Tokyo University."

"Eeeh? Motoko you're planning on going as well?" asked Shinobu. "How come?"

"Er, well, I was thinking Naru needed company," said Motoko, looking embarrassed. "And well, I never really thought about going to post-secondary education till now."

"Oh, I see," said Shinobu. "Maybe I could shoot for Tokyo University as well, you know to keep you and Naru-sempai company."

"Naru-sempai? Where did that come from?" asked Motoko and Shinobu flushed.

"Well, when she talks about going to Tokyo University, her expression lights up." Shinobu twitched her fingers together. "Much like Keitaro-san does."

"You shouldn't get too close to him, he has too many perverted accidents," warned Motoko.

* * *

"Keitaro-sensei you pervert!" exclaimed Asuna, striking Keitaro hard enough to fling him out of the baths. "Use our own shower!"

"PHRRGH!" replied Keitaro, sailing through the doors.

* * *

Naru Narusegawa twiddled a mechanical pencil between her fingers as she tapped the book. "Ano, Eva-chan got an idea of how this question works out?"

Evangeline paused and looked over Naru's shoulder. "Mmm… the answer is number two."

"Are you certain?" asked Naru and Evangeline scoffed.

"I haven't lived for six hundred years not knowing anything ya know," said the blonde as she sat down on the couch next to Kitsune. The television was blaring with the sound of race horses as the other girl sat with her knees to her chest and spread, Kitsune sprawling on the couch with one beer in her hand. "Gimme one of those."

Kitsune handed her a Sapparo and Evangeline popped the top. "Mistress," interjected Chachamaru. "You know you do not handle alcohol very well."

"The old fart didn't want a drunk to guard the school so I never did," said Evangeline. "Speaking of which, did you give Chachazero one?"

Chachamaru looked over at the Ermine and the little green haired doll and shook her head. Sometime around the middle of the day, Kamo had limped back looking rather half-charcoaled from one of Su's weapons. Presumably the other girl was out testing Mecha Tama against Kotarou and Negi as attributed to the sound of fighting and explosions from across the small city. Currently the pair were sharing a bottle of Ishikawa Killer Brew, snagged from Haruka's stash and there were several cans around them. It was a novelty the way the Ermine soaked up alcohol like that. Kitsune considered selling tickets.

"Aw c'mon, a little booze isn't going to hurt them any," grinned Kitsune. "In any case though, I gotta ask something."

"Huh, what?" asked Evangeline and Kitsune held up a few ticket stubs.

"I was hoping you knew how to pick winning horses!" chirped Kitsune and Evangeline performed a classic faceplant.

"How would I know to choose horses Kitsune!" shouted Evangeline, rubbing her sore face.

"You're a mage and I'm certain you can pull unexpected luck out of nowhere, right?" grinned Kitsune. Evangeline fought the urge to drive her fist into Kitsune's head and instead, settled for tickling the other girl mercilessly.

As Kitsune howled, writhing under Evangeline's tickle torture, Naru sighed and propped her book up on her knees as she slumped into a more comfortable position. "So tan equals…"

"6Y," said Chachamaru, looking over Naru's shoulder.

"Aaaah, you're right. You're pretty smart Chachamaru," praised Naru and the android blushed.

"Er, well, mistress and I have been in the school for quite some time now, and my mother is at the top of the class," said Chachamaru.

"Oooh? You have a mother?" asked Naru, interested.

"Yes, my mother is Lingshen Chao of class 3-A," said Chachamaru. "She and Hakase Satomi created me in the labs and mistress gave me life using a magical power source. In a sense, I have three mothers, although Lingshen is my registered mother."

"So in essence, you have three mothers, or at least two parental figures and a mistress," said Naru and she twirled her pencil in her fingers. "That must be interesting during Parents Day before the end of term."

Chachamaru colored. "Er, yes, it is. When we moved from 2-A to 3-A, we had a parents day. Although Lingshen's family did not appear for the day, the Hakase family did." Chachamaru twiddled her thumbs and said, "Would you like to hear about it?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Naru enthusiastically as she glanced over to Kitsune and Evangeline. The other girl hadn't stopped tickling Kitsune and Kitsune was looking distinctly red in the face.

* * *

"Maa, Chachamaru, I'm going out," said Evangeline as she dressed for the school day. "It's parents day and I have no intention of sticking around when everyone is all fussy with their moms and dads."

"Yes mistress. Would you like me to accompany you?" asked Chachamaru.

Evangeline shook her head. "Naw, go and have some time with your mom. I'm going to the old man's place anyhow and getting a good game of shogi in. Meet me there when you get sick of visiting with the Hakases and Lingshins." With that, the little vampire headed out the door, leaving Chachamaru standing there, broom in her hands.

After changing out of her maid outfit that she commonly wore around the house into a sleeveless top, skirt and high buckled boots, Chachamaru headed out into the campus. Mahora was filled with visitors this time of day for three days before the family members of the students headed off or brought their kids home after the graduation ceremony to the next level of school.

Moving past Professor Arashi who was with his daughter Yuna and the mother and father of the Narutaki twins, Chachamaru stopped at the sight of Kagurazaka Asuna standing with Konoka. The pair were off to the side, sipping on the juice that was brought in. Raising the volume of her internal microphone, she caught snippets of their conversation over the din.

"… Takahata-sensei said he was taking me out to dinner tonight," said Asuna, a starry expression on her face. "He's not my dad and all but he took care of me for the early part of my life."

"Aaah, I'm jealous. Papa can't get away from work at the compound so it's just me and grandpa tonight. I'm trying to find Sechan so she can spend the three day weekend with us but I hear she's being visited by someone from the Shinmei Ryu."

"Does Sakurazaki-san have parents?" asked Asuna and Konoka shook her head. "That's no good. You really have to get her with you."

"Mm… oh, Chachamaru-san!"

Chachamaru jerked to attention as Konoka walked over and grasped her hand. "You don't have family, right? Are you planning on spending it alone?"

"Actually I was looking for mother," said Chachamaru, feeling her face heat up. "Though I do not see Chao-kaasan anywhere here."

Asuna blushed, embarrassed. "I keep forgetting you're an android, Chachamaru-san. But Hakase is your mother too, isn't she?"

"Yes, but she seems busy," said Chachamaru, pointing out Satomi Hakase who was being mothered by a large woman and a bone-thin man, both dressed in lab coats. It was easy to see where Hakase got her brains from as their lab coats bore markings of work in the Mahora Robotics field. "I would not wish to intrude."

"That's no good. And with Chao off somewhere presumably with her parents… mou…" Konoka slapped a fist into her open hand. "I know! Chachamaru, want to spend the afternoon with Asuna and me? And I'm sure grandpa wouldn't mind spending the night with you and Eva-chan at our family dinner."

Chachamaru blinked. "You would bring me to your family?"

"Sure, I mean your mom is somewhere else, right?" said Konoka. "We can round up Chao as well and have a big gathering the next day too on the front lawn. Right, Asuna?"

"Sure," said Asuna. "We can have a big thing for our friends and family."

The door slid open once more and the girls looked up to see Setsuna with a tall elegant woman, dressed in a hakama and a top. The bells on her sword tinkled and the animal on her shoulder, a large purple bird made a squak sound. Konoka's eyes lit up. "Aaah, it's Aoyama Tsuruko!" At the confused expressions of the pair, Konoka elaborated. "She was the one who brought Sechan to my home when I was little. She's a really nice lady."

"Konoka-ojousama," said Setsuna, coming up to them. "Aoyama-sempai has asked that we join you for tonight's meal."

"Aaaah, Sechan you're coming to dinner?" enthused Konoka and Setsuna blushed. "All right, it's tonight at seven at grandpa's office."

"Chachamaru!" called out Hakase as she and her parents walked over. "Are you making plans tonight?"

"Yes," said Chachamaru. "I was planning on going with Konoka-san and Asuna-san to a family dinner."

"I see, I see," grinned Hakase. "I was wondering if you wanted to join us but instead, this sounds like a big gathering. Konoka, would your grandfather be adverse to having more visitors tonight?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Konoka happily and Asuna chuckled.

"We're going to be inviting half the class if this keeps up," said Asuna, amused.

* * *

Somehow, Setsuna knew that the gods were being meanies again. With the majority of the class split up for individual celebrations with their families, it hadn't been hard for Konoka to corral her old friend and somehow sweep her into the family get-together that she was having with a few other classmates. Out of the classmates however, she was not exactly expecting to see Karakuri Chachamaru there without her mistress Evangeline A. K. McDowell without doing the leading. In fact, Asuna was chatting easily with the android girl even though the pair hadn't spoken much during the year or so of being in junior high. The addition of the Hakase family was something to say the least interesting and sooner or later, Evangeline had finished her game of Shogi with the Headmaster and was currently contemplating a move against Hakase's father, Shikamaru. The latest addition to the family gathering was Chao Lingshin who had appeared out of nowhere at the door apparently on the invitation of the Headmaster himself accompanied by Takahata Takamichi who was apparently running late.

Like when she was little, Konoka had a habit of collecting little things here and there much like a magpie and making people friends. Back then it was interesting sticks, rocks and even bugs before and after Tsuruko Aoyama had brought her to the Kansai Magical Association Headquarters, otherwise known as the Konoe ancestral home.

Since she was little, Setsuna had been taken care of by the Aoyama family. While others teased her about being half-bird tribe and having white wings to boot -- a symbol of misfortune in the bird tribe, Motoko Aoyama had been her playmate before she had gone to the Konoe household and legally she was part of the Aoyama family as a ward.

While the appearance of Tsuruko was nothing short of expected, she did not expect that the older woman would so readily accept the dinner invitation, taking things out of her hands. "Tsuruko-sama," she said in a low voice, "I'm not too ready to face Konoka-ojousama yet."

"Fuuu," said Tsuruko, that charming smile that made her husband fall in love with her present. "Setsuna-chan you're too much like my little sister."

"Er," said Setsuna flushing red as Tsuruko continued.

"We will accept Konoka's invitation. After all this is a family gathering."

And there they were, sitting on the couch in the Headmaster's office which served as a room connecting him to his own small house that sat in the middle of Mahora Academy. Some thought it strange that the Headmaster lived in the school itself but it was said that the tradition came from the old English Headmasters that ran boarding schools for both magical and non-magical communities.

"Sechan, this tea is really good," said Konoka, practically placing a cup into Setsuna's hands. "Try it!"

Unwilling to disappoint Konoka's enthusiastic presentation of the tea, Setsuna took a sip despite the heat being a little too warm. "It's wonderful Konoka-ojousama," she said.

"Pooh, you're calling me Ojousama again," said Konoka, her cheeks puffing out in a disgruntled expression.

"I, er," said Setsuna, flushing as Tsuruko giggled under her sleeve.

"So what kind of business does your family run, Aoyama-san?" asked Hakase's mother, a similarly dark haired woman of about thirty or thirty five. Her name was Hakase Washu and her name came from eccentric parents who were not completely there at all times. Privately Satomi was of the distinction that her grandparents had somehow thrown random kanji into a machine or a hat and pulled out a name that was ironically similar to the name of the genius used in _Tenchi Muyo_ except written with different kanji.

"Our family runs the Shinmei Ryu, a dojo in Kyoto," said Tsuruko. "Currently the position of heir of the school is being held for my little sister, Motoko. She lives in Hinata House and is attending class there."

"Supper is on!" called out Asuna from the kitchen as Konoka and Chachamaru came out with steaming crock ware. Dishes of western and Japanese origin were set out, including an unidentified substance that Evangeline eyed with distrust.

"The heck is it?" she asked, poking the substance with a fork.

"Uh… it was supposed to be fried salmon," said Asuna and Evangeline stared at it some more.

An awkward silence over the condition of Asuna's food washed over the group before the Headmaster broke the ice with a call of "All right everyone, go ahead!"

The people around the table quickly regained their composure and after the standard call of "I will receive", dishes were passed around and the chatter quickly returned to the table.

"No leeks," said Evangeline as she passed the dish around. "I can't stand garlic and leeks."

"You need to eat to grow," said Asuna brightly and Evangeline death-glared the other girl. "At least have some of these."

Hakase sampled the dish that Asuna made and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting flavour. Is there curry powder in here?"

"Aaah, well," said Asuna, flushing as Chachamaru reported off the tastes in the fish.

"Carrots, garlic powder, curry powder, vegetable oil, salt, pepper…"

"Congratulations Asuna, you've gone from bad cooking to cooling that's good but looks terrible!" chirped Konoka and the people around the table laughed.

"Ever considered science as a field dear?" asked Mrs. Hakase. "Creativity like this would lend itself into experiments."

"Um, I'm not too good at anything that requires brains," said Asuna, flushing.

"That's okay," put in Chao from her side of the table. "I can teach you a few things."

"Chachamaru-san," said Mr. Hakase. "So my daughter and Lingshin-san made you?"

"Yes they did," said Chachamaru, nodding. "I was built and born in the Mahora Science Department. Officially Lingshin Chao is my mother as with Hakase Satomi."

"So that means we have a grandchild!" squealed Mrs. Hakase. Asuna and Setsuna simultaneously coughed on their food and Konoka burst into wild giggling. "Oh she's such a cute girl too! Dear, we need to take her shopping and show her what she's missed from growing up too soon!"

"I, er, that is to say…" For once, Chachamaru was speechless as her newfound mother-in-law gushed about how cute and beautiful her grandchild was. It made her face burn in embarrassment.

"Oh ho ho ho," laughed Tsuruko. "Do not be ashamed little one, all us mothers are like that."

"Eh? You're a mother Aoyama-sempai?" exclaimed Setsuna in shock.

"Fuu, I will be," said Aoyama, patting her stomach gently. "I found out a little while before I came here. My husband, Aoyama Naruto is of the Falling Leaf Kouga Ninja."

"Eh? Ninja?" asked Mr. Hakase as he adjusted his glasses. "Surely there are none left these days."

"Some families keep the tradition alive," said Tsuruko, a small smile on her face. "Naruto is a gallant man, and very handsome. But he has his flaws like any other person."

"I remember one time he fell into the pond and dragged in you in sempai," said Setsuna and Tsuruko giggled. "And then you chased him around for getting your father's wedding kimono dirty."

"Aoyama, is that your family name or his?" asked Mrs. Hakase.

"Mine actually, the Aoyama family this time around has no sons to keep the name alive and thus, we need to keep the dojo under our family register." Tsuruko smiled and said, "I was hoping that Motoko-han and Setsuna-han could help with that."

Setsuna performed a classic Jerry Lewis spit take that liberally drenched Asuna who shrieked and thrashed for a moment as the juice hit her. Coughing and hacking, Tsuruko slapped Setsuna on the back as Asuna mopped her face.

Chachamaru couldn't help it. The normally placid girl began to giggle and then it developed into full blown laughter. Fortunately everyone else saw the humor and began to laugh as well while Asuna went to clean up. But she was smiling too as the clock ticked on, continuing the family meal.

* * *

"Aaaaah, sounds like you had a lot of fun," said Kitsune. "Didn't you say much Eva-chan?"

"I was taking it all in," said Evangeline. The girl was lying with her head in Kitsune's lap but she seemed a bit misty eyed at the memories Chachamaru had described perfectly.

Just then, the door opened up as Negi called out, "I'm hooome."

"Geez, Negi-bozu, what the heck happened to you?" asked Kitsune as Negi and Kotarou dragged themselves into the house with Su following behind jauntily, carrying the remains of a Mecha Tama in a fishnet bag.

"We got ambushed by psycho-neesan by the water," said Kotarou before he faceplanted into the hardwood floor. "Ow…" came the muffled and somewhat delayed response.

"Aw, poor kiddo," said Evangeline with a smirk. "Maybe I'll let you off this time but tomorrow we go triple rounds, you understand?"

"Yes master," said Negi before he too fell down beside Kotarou, eyes spinning.

"We're hoo… ah, Negi-kun! What happened to them?" asked Shinobu, putting her groceries down and checking the boys over.

"They passed out after helping me test Mecha Tama Mark Three!" proclaimed Su and the other girls sweated nervously.

* * *

"Poor kid, we keep running him through the wringer," said Naru, tucking Negi into his futon. Beside him slept Kotarou who had been tucked in by Chachamaru. "Say Chachamaru, what is Eva-chan to you anyhow?"

"Mistress? She is… my mistress," said Chachamaru.

"I know that," said Naru. "But don't you get the feeling she may like you more than just a servant?"

"I'm not a servant," said Chachamaru. "I'm her partner."

Chachamaru got up and Naru watched her as she walked to the hall and stared out over Hinata City. "When I was brought to life, I had no identity of who I was. Mistress took me in, showed me how to act like a human, being a human. She showed me feminine modesty, how to dress and eat. Mistress is my partner and I hers. I'm devoted to mistress even long after my technology has become outdated."

"I see," said Naru. The older girl smiled up at Chachamaru and said, "You owe her everything and in return, she cares for you like a sister."

"A… sister?" asked Chachamaru, confused.

"Yeah! If she was just your mistress, she wouldn't teach you how to be human, right? She wants you to be as independent as possible and that includes finding out what path your life is going to take with Eva-chan at your side!" Naru smiled and winked, holding up a finger. "Try to find your dreams as well as fulfilling her own, okay?"

_Her smile… _Suddenly Chachamaru knew why her mistress befriended this human girl. It was because of her smile. It made people feel like they were home. Chachamaru smiled, a truly genuine one in a long time. "Yes, I will continue. For the sake of my own dreams and mistress. Till the end of time itself."

The pair settled into a well-deserved gaze towards the sun which was beginning to dip below the horizon. Stars twinkled in the depths of the blue-black sky and Naru said, "It's pretty…" No more words were exchanged between the par for there were none needed to be said.


	13. Chapter 12 : Cause and Effect

Side B: Love Negima

Written by Shaun Garin

Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are owned and copyright Ken Akamatsu 2006. References to Bleach are owned by Tite Kubo 2006.

Chapter 12: Cause and Effect

* * *

What is this? A dream? No, it's a memory, one I thought I locked away a long time ago. It was snowing, and it was cold in the castle. Yes, now I remember; I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland. It was just me, father... mother passed away. It was the middle ages, maybe older. I forget. Time seems to run through a tessera of change but I never change over the years. 

"_Father?"_

"_Ah, Eva, come. Come and look at it." A smiling man gathered the petite little girl into his arms as he pointed at the stars that were arrayed across the night sky. The little girl looked at the sky and the full spread of stars and she exclaimed, "Aaah! How pretty!"_

"_Isn't it, Eva? Your father has spent his whole life mapping the stars. One by one, I discover more and more. Maybe there are too many to count in my life."_

"_Father can do it. Father is smart," enunciated Evangeline and the scruffy man smiled and nuzzled her cheek, the whiskers of his beard scratching her face and making her giggle._

"_And little girls should get some rest. It is not proper for such a lovely princess to stay up so late," reprimanded the man gently. "Come now. I will sing you a lullaby, all right?"_

"_Yes father," said Evangeline, but her eyes shone with cheer as he lead her by her hand down into the castle below._

That was the last time I saw father. That night, a group of the townsfolk stormed the castle, thinking that my father was a wizard, a warlock. A person who communicated with the devil to do miracles. They were all fools. The fire consumed the castle, father was slain, as with every servant, down to the last of the serving boys. Only I survived, hidden in a closet, helpless to do anything of the sort but clutch down on my terrified screams. And then, he came.

"_Yare Yare, little one you're still alive?"_

"_Who... who are you? What happened? Why is my father... why?"_

_The creature knelt down as Evangeline looked at him in fear. Scampering backwards, he caught her face and she flinched at how cold and lifeless his touch was._

"_I was called here, by the screams of humanity. Your father had many enemies, enemies who would sacrifice their souls in exchange for true power. I merely helped them along the way."_

"_What are you?" whispered Evangeline and he smiled, bearing sharp teeth._

"_I am what I am child, a vampire through and through."_

I came to several hours later. The light burned my very being and I had to hide, being weak and alone. For years, I traveled in darkness, working up the strength to kill the one who caused me to become this way, if only for the sick enjoyment of watching me suffer. I entered a magical school in order to gain access to the power that would allow me to gain my vengeance. And then, I struck him down, in cold blood. To think that the legendary vampire, the one who people referred to as Dracula the undying could be killed by a mere child vampire. But as all old vampires, he was too cocky, too self assured in his victory over my suffering. It was then I earned the title of the Undying Magi.

Years passed. Centuries passed. People I knew grew old and died, the last remnants of my family kept alive through my actions. I moved across land to the land of the Sun, slaying and killing as I did so, keeping myself alive through the power of blood and selflessness. And then, fifteen years ago, he came into my life.

"_You must be tired, to fall off a cliff so easily," said the handsome young man as he held onto the branches that jutted from the cliff side. In the other hand, he held Evangeline who stared up at him. Nagi Springfield smiled and said, "A cute girl shouldn't want to die so easily."_

"_Geez, why are you still following me kid? Go home already," said Nagi to Evangeline but there was no malice in his voice. Only a gentle chiding thus far._

_Evangeline said nothing as Chachazero giggled, hanging from her hand. "He is a nice one, mistress," said Chachazero._

_Evangeline said nothing as she continued to follow him._

More people came, following the trail of the Thousand Master. Nagi Springfield, so charismatic, so utterly helpful and so utterly selfless. He picked up friends and even more children such as Kagurazaka Asuna. And then he tricked me into that anti-vampire soup. No, he didn't trick me. For some reason, I could never go through with killing him even though his blood would nourish my power for years to come. Why? Why I ask myself. And the answer is clear.

I was in love with the fool.

Over the centuries, I had taken many a lover, guised as a young girl and hidden with spells to promote the appearance of age. But none so much I wanted to bed than Nagi Springfield. He was irresistible, which made many a woman fall for him and claim their child was his. How foolish I was.

And now..

* * *

"Eva-chan! Eva-chan! Mou... wake your ass up!" 

A sharp kick to the side yielded no response from the girl and Narusegawa Naru grumbled and grabbed a nearby pole and poked Evangeline repeatedly. "Geez, it's already noon. How much longer are you going to stay in bed?"

"Don't wanna get up," came the reply from the pile of sheets. "I have no obligations, no lousy assignments, no nothing."

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that," said Naru as she grabbed the pile and heaved it off the girl, leaving Evangeline curling up more in her bed to try and get some more rest. "It's a gorgeous day out there! Lets go bowling or swimming or something!"

"It's cold," muttered Evangeline. "And it's still too early in the spring for swimming anyhow."

"Geez, get your butt out of bed at least!" exclaimed Naru, kicking the western-style bed hard enough to send it rolling a couple of feet. "Honestly what happened to all of that energy you had last week?"

"I spent it," replied Evangeline but with a weary heave, she pulled herself to a sitting position and brushed tangled blonde hair away from her face. "Fine, if you're willing to pamper me or something, then I guess we can call it even."

"No pampering for you," said Naru as she shoved Evangeline's bath things into her hands. "Get a bath first and come down for lunch."

Evangeline sighed. "Right, right."

* * *

Evangeline had to admit, several minutes later after a long soak in the hot springs that she felt better after that long and rather detailed set of memories. Leaning over a rock and folding her arms so that she could rest her head on them, Evangeline sighed and cast a glance across the springs. Steam rose from it in the warm springtime weather, leaving the hot springs area shrouded in a warm hazy fog. "It's peaceful," she said to herself. 

Heaving a great sigh, she turned onto her back and leaned so that she could look into the sky. "I wonder... why I was dreaming like that?" Evangeline said to herself.

Suddenly, Evangeline stiffened, the sensation of pure bloodlust washing over her. She suddenly found it incredibly hard to breathe as she stood up, looking around the haze of the springs. _Where is it? THERE!_

"Lic lac li la lilac," whispered Evangeline and pointed her hand in the direction of the source of the bloodlust as she chanted quickly in Greek. Immediately, the air condensed and chilled as ice exploded up and outwards, forming a spire. The bloodlust quickly abated and Evangeline's eyes narrowed. "Is it dead?"

"Actually, I was thinking it's good to be already dead, don't you agree?" purred a voice next to her ear.

Evangeline gasped and leapt forwards, pivoting around as she began another short spell. But her chanting was cut short as a knee slammed into her stomach, cutting off the wind needed to continue. Landing hard and coughing up blood, Evangeline wiped her mouth and snarled, "Dracula."

"My, my, aren't we the high strung one today?" said the count, slinking out of the mists as they folded away from him like a curtain. The man was tall, not threatening in his looks or stance but his whole body radiated bloodlust. The man himself was dark haired with fine European aristocratic features and he was dressed in a simple black shirt and pants, the collar ruffled a little. "Gralf Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Count Dracula in the books. It's nice to see you too, my former murderer."

"How are you still alive?" snapped Evangeline, her hand beginning to glow with violet light. "I was certain I finished you off."

"Oh you did, most assuredly," said the count, casually examining his fingernails like the conversation bored him. "But when I died, someone approached me. Someone who was quite unhappy with the way the world run. Have you ever heard of the demon of the South, Leviathan?"

"I know OF him," returned Evangeline, determined to keep up the banter. It was easier for her to generate the power needed for End of the World. "Mazoku Lord of the South, master of the seas and the air, as his counterpart is Sukuna, Mazoku Lord of the North of Ice and Earth."

"Very good," said Dracula, clapping his hands. "You've done your homework into the work lost into the ages. Actually who approached me was a mid-level mazoku who met an unfortunate end against one Nagi Springfield and you. When I found out that my old pupil was an accessory to his end well..."

"I am not your pupil," snarled Evangeline. "And this conversation, is OVER."

Ice formed in and around the count, and Evangeline snapped her fingers. Immediately, the count exploded into thousands of pieces and she smirked. "Try regenerating from that, bastard."

"Quite a pity really," said the same damnable voice and Evangeline's blood run cold. "A shame, considering that you used such a weak spell against me."

Then she knew nothing but pain as a fist lashed out and propelled her into the changing area where she smashed through several walls and came to a rest, imbedded in the washing machine. The count floated up and seized her face in his hands. Evangeline felt sick as his hand had no warmth to it, like it was devoid of life when he first touched her. "Three days," he said. "And then, I make no promises to spare you and raze this city to the ground."

Then, dropping her face, he stalked out of the room. "WAIT!" cried Evangeline and he stopped. "What do you want, in exchange for not burning the city?"

"Well, perhaps then the side of me that is pure Mazoku can think of something," said Dracula and he seemed to be lost in internal conversation for a minute before his expression split into a wicked smile. "Well then. In exchange, we meet in combat. Just you, and me... and Nagi Springfield."

Evangeline's heart caught in her throat. _But... Nagi's DEAD!_

"Well then, ta for now," said the count and Evangeline's protests died on the wind as he was no longer there to hear it.

* * *

Evangeline had quickly found out that the mazoku part of the count had indeed set up a bubble of non-reality, causing their fight to keep out of the current plane of existence. A cheap trick, but excellent for not causing property damage. Fortunately for her sanity, she hadn't made any sudden renovations to Hinata House in the span of their short fight. On the downside, Chachamaru had been making every attempt to break it with her programs and when Evangeline finally emerged from the bubble of non-reality, the gynoid had looked relived. Until Evangeline told her exactly what happened. 

It was a council of not-exactly war for the most part, but the whole of Hinata House sat around the lobby, listening to Evangeline finish her tale.

"And that's that," said Evangeline. "I have to find a way to fake him out since Nagi isn't alive anymore."

"But father IS alive," protested Negi. "He came to me six years ago and gave me this staff."

Evangeline levelled a stare at him. "Even if he WERE still alive, the chance of hunting him down before our time frame is up is almost zero to none. If there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping his ass covered."

"But..." Negi withered under Evangeline's piercing gaze and he shrunk down into his seat.

"So what are you going to do, Eva-chan?" said Kitsune.

"I'm going to face him in combat. I'm certain Chachamaru covered in an illusion will be good enough," said Evangeline.

"Sounds good, I'll help!" exclaimed Su but Evangeline shook her head.

"No offence Su, but your technology or artefact isn't enough. No, this is my fight and I won't let him kill anything else."

"Is this guy really that bad?" asked Naru.

"Worse. He's now a Mazoku, the highest in the demonic hierarchy." Bending over, Evangeline drew several diagrams and held them up. "There are several levels of demons. Demons, the lowest level and easily summonable from your basic to high-level mage."

The image showed a group of mean looking rabbits sitting on a log as Evangeline pointed to the second image of meaner buff rabbits. "These are the Lesser Mazoku, otherwise known as Mid-levels. The one we're facing is a Mid-level Mazoku which means that normal mages can barely scratch them. To even seal one away is dangerous in itself. Then there's the Mazoku Ranks themselves, much stronger demons. To put it simply they're the lieutenants of the Mazoku Race. And then there's the four Mazoku Lords and the governing Lord himself. So did you get all that?" said Evangeline, flipping the three sets of diagrams with a finger over and over.

"... it would have been easier to read without the crappy illustrations," said Kamo-kun and was immediately tossed into a wall for his trouble.

"And you have three days to come up with some scheme to make the illusion as good as possible," said Motoko. "Is that possible in high-level combat?"

"I will have to maintain power for as long as possible. But when it fails, I'll need as much help as I can putting him down, short of sealing him away." Evangeline sighed and said, "If any one of you wish to survive this if I fail, come with me."

Soon enough, they gathered in Evangeline's room with several changes of clothes and enough food to feed an army or a Su in several days. "I warn you now, you will age in here and it is set for twenty four hour increments," said Evangeline as she indicated her resort. "But it's the best chance of learning enough combat skills to survive if the bastard welches on our deal."

"Cool it's like the room of space and time," chirped Sarah happily and Evangeline gave her a look.

"Everyone ready then?" said Evangeline and there was a round of nods. Evangeline opened the gate to her resort and in a flash of light, the entire Hinata Household vanished.

* * *

"Hello?" called out Kotarou as he stuck his head into Hinata House. "Anyone home?" 

Scowling to himself, he stepped inside and started to poke his head into the various rooms, calling out to people who would normally be in there. After combing one and a half floors, Kotarou rubbed his head and exclaimed, "Man, where IS everyone?"

Sniffing the air, Kotarou began to follow a scent and he wandered around the lower floor until he was sniffing around the courtyard in the back. "Someone's cooking something," he said to himself as he finally pinpointed the source. "In... that run down Annex?"

Kotarou approached the Annex and scowled to himself as he saw the Annex was sealed with a spiritual rope. "Someone's done a good job here," he said, fingering the wards. "But someone's inside. Far be it from me to not investigate."

Instead of going through the front door, Kotarou leapt to the nearest balcony and then up one more floor before he found a window he could go through. Sliding the window closed, he rubbed his hands for a moment before chanting a syllable and holding up his finger. Light blossomed from the tip and he panned it around the building. "Che, it's pretty run down inside too."

Following his nose down stairs and rickety landings, Kotarou was painfully aware that each step yielded an ominous creaking noise and not once did he stop to make certain that whoever was cooking downstairs hadn't run away for some odd reason. _Although_ thought Kotarou, _whoever LIVED in here was probably cracked anyhow._

Making his way to the first floor, he rounded the corner, sniffed the air and let his nose lead him to a kitchen. The kitchen was sparse but with surprisingly well maintained hot and cold running water, a refrigerator to the side and a pot was bubbling on a stove. The only jarring note was that the stove itself was wood burning, something Kotarou was certain should have been replaced soon.

The kitchen itself caught most of the suns rays, bathing it in a warm light and not at all unfriendly and it was clean, devoid of the layer of dust that Kotarou found in many rooms. Although, Kotarou had also noticed several rooms that were free of the inches of dust from years of unkempt care for the rundown building.

"Someone's living in here," surmised Kotarou and then he felt a presence behind him. Whirling in a fighting stance, a handsome black haired young man stood there, looking quizzical as he held in his hands an armful of wood for the stove.

"Oh, visitors," he said cheerfully, his voice low and musical. "It is not often I encounter people who have found me. Please, have a seat. Lunch will be ready shortly."

"I'm not really here for lunch," said Kotarou but his stomach growled.

The young man laughed and he added, "Well then, indulge me then I suppose."

Soon enough, Kotarou was sitting down across from the young man who had prepared a simple meal of meat and vegetable stew in the western tradition, and hot steaming buns that came from the oven below the cooking range. The food smelled so good, Kotarou exclaimed "Ikadakimasu!" and dug in heartily. The young man smiled and tasted his food. "It's been a while since I had guests," said the man. "My name's Imma Albrieo. And you are?"

"Inugami," said Kotarou through a mouthful of stew and bread. "Inugami Kotarou."

"Ah, well Kotarou-kun, may I call you that?" Kotarou nodded and Albrieo continued. "How did you find me?"

"Was easy," said Kotarou, tapping his nose. "I smelled your food all the way from the dorm."

"Oh ho?" chuckled Albrieo. "Then I suppose my food is good after all. It's good then; Nagi said I always needed to improve since our meals were usually rat-like things that we found in the deserts of Niobe."

"Nagi?" repeated Kotarou, stuffing his face with stew. "Do you mean Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master?"

"Indeed," said Albrieo, his eyes shining. "And you are Eastern Magi by the looks of it. Inugami Wolf Oni Tribe?"

Kotarou dropped his spoon into the bowl and stood up in shock. "How did you know?!" he exclaimed.

Albrieo smiled pleasantly, and tapped his nose twice. Feeling a little more cornered, Kotarou sat down and continued his meal. After all, it was a basic tenant in the Inugami family that you did not pass up food.

"The reason I asked is because Negi Springfield lives in the dorm, does he not?" said Albrieo, causing Kotarou to cough on his food before swallowing hard.

"You're well informed for a guy who doesn't get out much," said Kotarou after sucking down a cup of water. "What do you know about me and him anyhow?"

"I was curious really, wondering why an Inugami, a hardliner supporter of the East-West Magi separationist groups was friends with a Springfield, the very son of the infamous Thousand Master." said Albrieo calmly.

"Well, feh, he doesn't KNOW I'm East anyhow," said Kotarou, but there was no bile behind the words.

"Really? Then why do you not tell him?"

"Tell him? You can't be serious, Chigusa-neechan wants me to keep an eye on the dorm," said Kotarou. "And a man doesn't back down on his word."

"Negi is only ten, the same age as you. He has no real friends save for Sarah who can relate to him being a semi-orphan herself. How is it that you can actually spend time with him without getting to know the REAL Negi?"

"I... er..." Kotarou was for a loss of words as he stared into his dish, suddenly not feeling hungry all of a sudden. The empty sensation in his stomach for food had replaced itself with a hollow pit, something that ached when he thought of betraying Negi one day to Chigusa and the East-based separatists. "I hate the hateful Western Magi. That's why I fight."

_Kotarou-kun, thank you!_

"It doesn't sound like you have much conviction over it," mused Albrieo calmly. "You've become friends, despite having different missions. You've been able to see who Negi really is; not the son of the Thousand Master but his own person."

"... you're right," said Kotarou finally after sitting at the table in silence, mulling over Albrieo's words. "Negi is the son of the Thousand Master, but he is also just a kid, like me. We've spent time together, being friends. I guess... I don't hate Western Magi as much as I thought."

Albrieo smiled as he got up and retrieved Kotarou's bowl and plate, much to the Inugami's protests but came back with two slices of decadent chocolate mud pie, each one of them almost as tall as Kotarou's own head. Kotarou's eyes were wide as Albrieo set them down and then placed a knife and fork on each plate. "It's times like this, that Tara always said that you need chocolate to support a decision."

Ruffling Kotarou's hair, Albrieo and Kotarou began on their desserts. And slowly, each one of them opened up a little more.

* * *

"Need to pee," muttered Negi as he sat up in his makeshift bed and stumbled towards the bathrooms. As he returned from it, he paused at the sight of Evangeline practicing in the fighting area. The girl was moving through the motions of casting a spell. 

"Master?" said Negi, making Evangeline look up. There were tired circles under her eyes and he added, "You should get to bed. It's not good to exhaust yourself."

"I'm fine," said Evangeline, snippily. "I just need to brush up on my skills, that's all."

"Everyone is worried," said Negi as Evangeline proceeded to cast the Saggita Magica-Axe of Lightning combo. "And we still want to help." The last part of the statement caused the Axe to misfire, crashing into the ground about three meters away from the actual tin can she was using as a target. The can rolled over, mocking her.

"Negi," said Evangeline, her voice low and dangerous. "Never think of helping me. I'm training you not to fight but to survive."

"But... Evangeline-san is always saying that," said Negi.

"BUT I MEAN IT THIS TIME!" cried Evangeline angrily and Negi was surprised to see tears falling from her eyes. "I don't want to risk losing you. Losing anyone for that matter."

Whirling back around so that Negi couldn't see her cry, Evangeline sniffed. The sound of footsteps could be heard and Negi laid his hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away but it returned and then another wrapped around her shoulders as Negi laid into her back. "It's okay, Master," he said soothingly. "We're not going to die. We're going to live."

"How... how do you know you can do it?" said Evangeline softly, not turning to face the young boy. "How can you fight, knowing this guy can wipe half the human race out without breaking a sweat?"

"I don't know," replied Negi. "But it's like counting stars. One by one I find new ones. Each one of them are possibilities. Maybe there's too many possibilities but there's always one I can follow."

_Your father has spent his whole life mapping the stars. One by one, I discover more and more. Maybe there are too many to count in my life_.

Evangeline, taken back by Negi's words that echoed in tandem with her own fathers, turned around and stared into his eyes. _The same eyes, so full of life and determination._

"Master, are you okay?" asked Negi. "You're flushed."

Evangeline jumped. Face burning, she pushed him back and said, "Get some rest. Training resumes in the morning. And don't worry, I'll rest too."

Negi heaved a great sigh of relief and smiled brightly. "Thank goodness. Well, goodnight, Master." With that, he returned to bed as Evangeline watched him leave.

"Kukuku," giggled Chachazero who had watched the pair under the simulated stars. "You LIKE him, don't you Mistress?"

"Shut up," retorted Evangeline as she tried to shake the memory of how brilliant Negi's eyes were and how Nagi's was the same.

* * *

Kotarou ducked and wove around Albrieo's deceptively weak strikes as they pair sparred back and forth on the lawn in front of the Annex. When Kotarou had asked for training, he couldn't have found a better opponent. 

Imma Albrieo was a deceptively strong and complex person, archiving thousands of books in the Annex alone and many more in the hidden libraries deep within Hinata House since the end of the East-West War. After the war, some of the more infamous group members of Nagi Springfield's team had split up and Albrieo had followed Nagi to Hinata House where Nagi had introduced him to Granny Hinata, a wizened old lady of at least seventy but still spry to climb mountains and dive into the deepest oceans.

Granny Hinata was immediately sold on the idea of Albrieo living in the Annex. Even though it was dangerous for couples, he could easily live there and slowly work on the dangerous magic that was caught in a snare between Water and Wood mana. Such a union usually resulted in the binding of two people who stayed under the Annex's roof since the old days but Albrieo was one man and had been slowly unravelling the complex tangle of mana that situated itself on the ground of the Annex. Since then, Nagi had journeyed to Mahora Academy with Evangeline in tow; the last of their group before he vanished a year later. He was said to have appeared briefly during the scuffle that burnt down much of Pararakelse's lush tropical flora around the ruins of the Turtle Society but other than that, he was out of the pages of history.

Kotarou held up a hand, panting hard as he trotted over to the bench and popped the top on his water bottle. Taking a swig, he gasped out, "Where did you learn all of this?"

"Aaaah," said the man, holding up a finger in front of his face. Albrieo had insisted on wearing a brown hooded cloak, "Just in case" he had said since there were still people out there who would gleefully get a piece of him if they could. He also asked to be called Colonel Sanders which sort of surprised Kotarou more out of the fact that Albrieo obviously had a thing for Western-style cooked chicken. "That, is a secret."

Kotarou groaned, the seventeenth time in the day. "That line is so overused," he grumbled.

"If you must know, I do more than archive objects and life stories, "said Albrieo, pulling out a card that Kotarou recognized as a Ministra Magi pactio card. "Adeat," he whispered and a thousand books spiralled out of it. Catching a handful of bookmarks, he reached for a book and slashed it through the pages of the book he closed around it. There was a muffled boom and a pillar of muted light before a little girl stood there in front of him.

Kotarou spat out his water in shock as the girl, short, red headed and wearing the cloak of a Wales Magical Student said, "You see, my Artefact allows me certain skills," said the girl and then in another swirl of light and smoke, Konoe Eishun stood there; young, dressed in a turtle neck and black slacks and he carried a katana that was planted into the ground. "Learning the life stories of people and carrying them with me is part of its power."

Another burst of light swirled and then stood a grey haired man, unshaven and handsome, dressed in a well worn brown suit. "You see, as an archivist, I can recreate the forms of people all over the world. I can turn into someone stronger or..."

Wind swirled and light pillared into the sky as Urashima Haruka took a drag of her cigarette, "I can become someone weaker of course, but it's usually not necessary to do that. Haruka-chan is usually too cute for me to become anyhow."

"Oh really?" chimed in a voice next to them and the faux Haruka made an "ERK!" sound just before she exclaimed "BLAUGH!" and was pitched across the ground as the real Haruka smashed him good. "Let that be a lesson to you Al; Haruka-chan is NOT how you address me."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," grimaced the faux Haruka and light swirled to reveal Albrieo sitting up against the cliff side, holding a big red mark on his face. "You still hit pretty good, don't you Haruka-chan?"

As Haruka turned away from Albrieo who was convulsing on the ground due to Haruka grabbing his legs and driving her foot into his nuts several times, she turned towards Kotarou who sweated nervously and took a drag of her cigarette. "Kotarou, where's the others?" she asked curiously.

"Er... I don't know?" whimpered Kotarou.

Sighing, Haruka turned to Albrieo who had finished writhing on the ground in pain and repeated the question. Albrieo simply looked at her cluelessly before she made a grasping motion and twisted her clawed fingers. "THEY WENT INTO EVA-CHAN'S RESORT MA'AM!" cried Albrieo, doing a credible military impression as he snapped to full standing attention and performing a crisp salute.

"I'm guessing this is in part to that Halfa showing up," said Haruka and Albrieo nodded and exclaimed, "Yes ma'am!" Sighing heavily, she turned towards Kotarou and said, "Kiddo, you're good with talismans?"

"Not too much," said Kotarou, now in the same attention stance as Albrieo for fear of losing the will to procreate. "Chigusa-neechan was better. But I know some stuff like the spell to make a bubble of non-reality."

"That's good then," said Haruka. "Start making enough wards to encase the area with a radius of about a hundred meters. If I know the way a Halfa fights, they'll try to cause as much property damage as possible. Well what are you waiting for you two! Go to the store and buy some paper and ink! Chop, chop!"

"YES MA'AM!" chorused the pair and they dashed for the main courtyard.

"God, she's scary," whimpered Kotarou as they neared the stairs.

"Haruka-chan's always been able to scare me, that's for sure," admitted Albrieo. He was then clocked by a flying stone and went tumbling down the stairs. Kotarou looked back, his eyes went big and round and he fled down the stairs at the sight of Haruka tossing a very large stone up and down in her hand.

* * *

"I have no more to teach you all," said Evangeline as she paced up and down the line like a drill sergeant. The girl looked composed but inside she was still filled with turmoil. Chachamaru could feel it, being intimately linked with Evangeline. "I... I want all of you to run if the battle goes badly," said Evangeline. Holding up a hand to forestall the torrent of angry exclamations, she added, "He's an upper-tier Mazoku, not just one of your run of the mill demons that Kagurazaka would be able to smack into the next world without a thought. If it goes sour, I want you all to promise me to run. Is that understood?" 

The others looked at each other before Negi said, "Yes, Master."

"Good." Evangeline heaved a sigh and added, "For your safety, any of you who do not have pactio artefacts, I want you to make one with me. It will keep you alive for the most part and lend instinctive use of the artefact. Each one of them is unique to the user and reflects your inner determination and drive. There is no way to predict what may happen. Kamo, are you done?"

"Yes neesan," said Kamo as he finished making the pactio circle. His voice was subdued as the life had seemingly drained from it as well. "It's ready."

"Good," said Evangeline, stepping into the circle. "Naru first."

Naru walked over and she faced Evangeline. Evangeline looked up at the taller girl, scowled and used a bit of her magic to become the nineteen year old she was usually at Hinata House. "Just a quick peck," said Evangeline.

"R-Right," said Naru, looking a bit flushed as she leaned in and their lips made hesitant contact. Violet light flared and a card floated down where it was caught by Naru.

The picture of Naru was her in her favourite sleeveless turtleneck, skirt and boots. One hand held a large book that read "Encyclopedius" and the other hand was pulling off her glasses as Naru faced outwards from the card.

Kitsune, stepping up to bat had no hesitation as she captured Evangeline's lips. The other girl made an "MMPH!" sound for a moment before Kitsune let go with an audible pop. "KITSUNE!" cried Evangeline, mortified at being slipped the tongue. Kitsune stuck her tongue out at her and then plucked her card out of the air. She was dressed in a set of leather pants and a tank top in the image but there was an addition of two fox tails popping out of her backside and fox ears held fast onto her head. It seemed that Kitsune was not just a nickname but was quickly becoming a reality.

Motoko came next, looking very embarrassed about kissing Evangeline but she pecked her lips quickly, long enough for the magical transfer to complete itself. The image on it was different than Setsuna's in style, more to the point that Motoko's hair was tied back in a set of twinned ponytails and she sported a bit more cute style than usual; a flared skirt that was also part shorts, boiled leather armour around her front and back, a mix of fishnet and leather wrapped around her forearms and calves with sandaled feet and around her forehead was a imageless metal plate on a headband. Her sword _Shishou_ was slung over her shoulders as it had seemingly grown too long for her to carry.

Finally, Negi's turn was there as Su, Shinobu and Sarah had been denied the chance to form a second pactio by Evangeline, stating that even though the double pactio worked once, it may not work and could kill them. Negi stood in front of her as she returned to her younger form. "Well, I haven't got all day," snapped Evangeline and Negi swallowed.

"Right," said Negi. He leaned in slowly, his eyes scrunched up and closed. Sighing, Evangeline grabbed his face and before Negi could react, she crashed her lips against his in a fierce kiss.

Negi's arms waved in shock as she released him and a card floated down. Evangeline snagged it and handed it to Negi. "Here," she said. "And wipe that dumb look off your face."

"T-Tongue," he squeaked, face burning.

Not deeming to continue that train of thought, Evangeline turned to the rest and said, "Everyone ready?"

The chorus of nodding answered for her and Evangeline and the others vanished from the resort.

* * *

"There's the last of them," said Kotarou as he finished inking out the last charm and affixed it to the wall surrounding Hinata House. "Everything all right on the other side, Albrieo-san?" 

"Yes they are," said Albrieo, casting a glance over at Haruka who simply nodded at them. The older woman kept glancing up at Hinata House as if she was waiting for them to arrive. Albrieo had surmised that Evangeline had her resort and had been training the others there for the last day or so. Haruka however had them working for the last three hours making a very strong barrier that would enfold Hinata House into a never-ending place. Mostly to keep the property damage down than anything else since the people who lived around Hinata House were immune to the pack of loons that lived there.

"We're back," said Evangeline from behind Haruka, although her tone said she wasn't happy to be back at all. "What's going on here?"

"Well," said Haruka, gesturing towards Albrieo who had his back turned to the pair as with Kotarou, "Al's finally shown his face."

"Eh?" said Evangeline, her expression adopting something one would see on Ku Fei's naturally clueless look as Albrieo turned around and raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo," he said.

Evangeline exploded into a frenzy as she demanded, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" while yanking on his face and hair and leaping on top of his shoulders, pulling at his ears like a little child. "HARUKA! Did you know he was here?"

"Yep," said Haruka, taking a drag of her cigarette. "I'm surprised you didn't even ASK me or sense his presence."

"I… but… grr…" enunciated Evangeline as she dug her knee into Albrieo's head in frustration.

"Maa, Eva-chan are you happy to see me or something?" grinned Albrieo as she twisted his ears painfully. "Or should I rather get out that school swimsuit and neko-mimi cosplay outfit I saved for you?"

"You perverted letch," grumbled Evangeline as she grabbed his nose and yanked upwards.

Kotarou marvelled to himself how the famous Dark Evangel could act so immature around the right people and sighed. "You know, that attack is due in three days," he said. "What's going to happen with it anyhow?"

"We need to get a mock up of Nagi working," said Evangeline as she put Albrieo into a headlock. The older man looked like he was enjoying it albeit his pained expression. "Maybe I can bug Satomi to make me a Chachamaru Mark II or something."

"I guess," said Kotarou, rubbing his head. "But seriously, no one fights like a western mage around here much anyhow."

"Feh," said Evangeline, snorting. "You're one to talk Inugami, being the son of shikigami."

As Kotarou gaped for a moment, Evangeline snorted again and said, "Really kiddo, you didn't think I knew? It's hard NOT to figure it out. I'm surprised Negi hasn't."

"Meh, I guess," said Kotarou. "So what are you going to do about emulating the Thousand Master?"

"I have a solution," said Albrieo as he suffered under Evangeline's attacks while perched on his person. "I can use my Artefact."

There was a long prolonged silence before Evangeline stated, "I hate you for making my life so much more difficult."

* * *

"Something on your mind, Naru?" asked Kitsune, noting that Naru was holding the telephone in her hands. The other was resting on the rotary-style dial but she hadn't put a number in. Kitsune could hear the phone beeping insistently, demanding a number to be put into the system. "Trying to call someone?" 

"Yeah," said Naru, hanging up the phone at last. "I wanted to call mom and dad but they're not home. I also tried Mei but she's off at class."

"This has you really shook up, huh?" said Kistsune and the other girl nodded. "I don't blame you. It's got me shook up too."

"When I first came here, I never knew that some day I could be possibly facing off something that would want to kill us. Not out of malice or spite or revenge, just kill us without remorse." Naru heaved a tremendous sigh and her shoulders shook as she begun to cry. "Kitsune... I'm scared."

"We all are," said Kitsune, wrapping her arms around the other girl. A tear splashed against Naru's cheek and she looked over her shoulder at Kitsune, the older girl's eyes watering as well. "God I'm so frightened too. But we have to think positive. This is Hinata House. We can make dreams come true, right?"

Naru nodded and she wiped her eyes. "R-right."

* * *

Three days tense days passed by. The girls had moved their worldly possessions to the Annex since it would be outside of the warded area with the feeling that they wanted to see their things again, just to assure themselves that they would be alive when the outcome was decided. 

Albrieo stood to the side, Nagi Springfield's life story already in his hands. To fully transform into someone and utilize all of their powers, especially one stronger than he was would limit his time to ten minutes. After which, the rest was left up to chance if the fight passed the ten minute mark.

Evangeline stood in the middle of the battleground, Chachamaru standing next to her and the girls standing at the perimeter where the spell was the weakest. The girl looked placid, but her eyes were a little red from staying up all night. Negi stood at the doors of the Hinata House, Kamo sitting on his shoulder. He had been told that his father would be joining them through the power of Albrieo's artefact and he too had a sleepless night thinking about the possibilities.

Then he appeared in a rush of dark energy and hovered overhead, chuckling. "Well, well, you come at least prepared than before. Come child, meet your doom against us. I seek vengeance and I am here to take it."

Magical power erupted from where Albrieo once stood and in his place, a flutter of doves appeared. Negi's breath caught in his throat as the hood fell down and the man held out a hand as a dove alighted on it. "Maa, all of these doves," he said, and Nagi Springfield smirked. "I didn't expect that I'd be let out for this."

"Nagi Springfield," said Dracula and his tone pitched deeper into a low vibration. "Remember I? It is I, is it not? You killed me and now, it is time to pay."

Nagi cocked his head to the side and said, "Are you certain I did? I don't remember."

"Idiot," hissed Evangeline, "ask questions later; we're running out of time!"

"I guess you're right," said Nagi and then he turned to Negi who stood at the entrance of the house, his staff clutched in his hands. The young boy gazed at his father and his father caught the meaning.

_I have so many questions for you, but it will have to wait. Please, hurry._

Nagi smiled and then, he exploded into action as Chachamaru surged forth as with Evangeline.

"L" exclaimed Dracula in a decidedly foreign tongue as raw darkness crackled and surged forth, destroying the ground where they stood. Nagi and Chachamaru leapt it and Evangeline took to the air, still chanting.

Nagi's first hit made contact and the pair wrestled for domination, fist to fist as he shot into his favourite move; _Saggita Magica. _The blast pushed the opponent away as Chachamaru delivered a vicious roundhouse into his head that knocked it clean around. Dracula laughed and he fired a beam of energy that blasted Chachamaru into the building.

"Chachamaru-san!" cried Negi as he mounted his wand, but the gynoid was already out of the hole and leapt into the fray once more.

"Pale Moon," intoned Evangeline and a beam of pale light struck at the ground below the opponent. Dracula grimaced and leapt away just as soon as a beam raw moonlight ripped through the ground and coursed into the air for a good minute.

"Hahahaha," laughed Dracula and he chanted something short in that foreign tongue once more. "Ii!"

Evangeline cursed and flew away as a barrage of meteors struck the ground and Dracula cursed as he blocked a double shot from Nagi and Chachamaru. "Not bad, not bad little girl," he grinned. "And Thousand Master, you have improved."

"Why thank you," said Nagi, his tone light but the expression humourless as he caught one of Dracula's powerful punches and twisted inwards along the strike. "Axe of Lightning!"

Dracula cried out and he crashed to the ground as Chachamaru struck him on the head with a spin kick. Evangeline finished her incantation, this time in the foreign tongue that Dracula was using and she intoned "Sin Harvest".

Immediately, the monster was stripped of his energy and mana and he cried out in pain. "What are you doing, wretched woman?" he snarled.

"I had this spell for a while," said Evangeline, her breath coming short from the rapid-fire spellcasting. "Sin Harvest is a spell that rips the life and mana from someone. Granted it will recharge in time but this is enough for our purposes."

Dracula smirked and then, shakily he got up as his body glowed with inky darkness. "You think so?" he said, his voice shaking with two different trebles. "Well then, let us see how much power you can rip from me!"

The beam of light that was cutting off Dracula's power suddenly turned pitch black and Evangeline shrieked as she was blown away from the power.

"Mistress!" cried Chachamaru as Nagi turned to face the opponent who was no longer there. He barely caught the strike to the neck and was tossed out of the protective barrier and came soaring through the other side. Dracula was ready for any counter attack and a massive arm smashed the man into the ground.

"This is all that there leads to be," Dracula smirked. "What is the matter, Dark Evangel? Coming to face your worst fears a little too much for you?"

"Evangeline... Master, you shouldn't move," said Negi as he had rushed to help Evangeline when she was thrown back by the energy burst. "Chachamaru, tell her she can't fight!"

"I'm fine you two," said Evangeline and she fell back, coughing up blood. "Really, I am."

"Mistress you are not fine," intoned Chachamaru quickly as she snuck a peek at Nagi being played like a pinball. "Your ribs are bruised, your muscles are all but given out and your life force has been shattered. It will take weeks for you to heal."

"We don't have weeks," said Evangeline but Negi pushed her down into Chachamaru's lap. "Boya?"

"Stay here," said Negi, his expression grim. "I'm going to help dad."

Without heeding Evangeline's protests, the boy rushed into battle and he gripped his staff. "Hey!" he cried and Dracula looked up at him. "Let my father GO!"

Magic whipped about and it crackled as he aimed. "Axe of Lightning!"

Dracula smirked and grabbed Nagi, positioning him into the path of the bolt. Negi's breath caught in his throat and he diverted it. The thunderbolt crashed down next to Dracula and then, the man was behind Negi.

"Foolish brat," smirked Dracula and his hands came down in a killing strike.

CLANG!

Dracula skidded backwards, dropping Nagi who coughed and got to his feet as Shinobu stood there, her giant frying pan in her hands. "I won't let you hurt Negi-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Neechan?!" exclaimed Kamo and Negi blinked, wondering where he had gone from Negi-san to Negi-kun.

"A little girl, is it?" smirked Dracula and once more he took off, faster than the eye. But then another blur met him and there was a cry of "Evil Cutting Blade, Second Form!"

The burst of raw chi shot through Shinobu and Dracula took it head on. The vampire fused with a mazoku cried out, holding his face and scrabbling at his eyes. "Bitch!" he cried out and Motoko smirked, her sword held out in a ready position.

"You forget, this is our home too," said Motoko. "I will not have evil reside here for as long as I live!"

"You..." Dracula was suddenly cut off as a sword was thrust through his chest and a resounding BOOM was heard. The mazoku went skidding along the ground as Su lowered her gun and Sarah jerked her hand. Her Artefact vanished and reappeared in her hands and Dracula bled darkness.

"We're just all coming out of the woodwork, aren't we?" remarked Sarah with a grin and Kotarou cracked his knuckles in agreement.

"Negi, let's finish this guy off," said Kotarou and Negi nodded.

"_Cantus Bellax_," intoned Negi and his power skyrocketed. The pair rushed Dracula and the man was forced to parry their shots, returning a couple. Blocking Kotarou's strike by grabbing his wrist, Negi was under the blow with a cry of "_Saggita Magica_, 199 arrows of light!"

The light arrows drilled him into the chest and Dracula flew backwards as Kotarou was above him, sweeping his hand downwards. "INUGAMI!"

Dozens of dark dogs erupted from his hand and smashed into the opponent, making it cry out even more. Dracula vanished and reappeared, holding his chest that was bleeding darkness. "You miserable little fools," he grimaced and then raised a hand. "This is the end for all of you! Descend..."

A crossbow bolt smashed into his hand and Dracula clutched at his hand as a smirking man down below lowered it. "It can't be," he whispered, not noticing Naru and Kitsune, the latter concentrating hard and her ears twitching rapidly.

"Good going," murmured Evangeline and then she intoned, "Activate contract, Negi Springfield for 30 seconds."

Negi suddenly felt like he was on fire as Evangeline's magic coursed through his system. While not a spectacular light show, it was strong and surprisingly warm. The momentary pause as Dracula prepared a spell to kill the unknown man was enough that Nagi grabbed his son and then said, "Fly." An incredible pitch hurled the boy towards the opponent and Dracula noticed him a little too late.

"Adeat," whispered Negi and then he landed a moment later. In his hand he bore a glittering claymore blade with a spiralling hilt that spun around his arm like fire, and in the other, he held half of his staff that was now a cool pale pearl-blue color and fitted as a sheath.

"Im...possible," coughed Dracula as he begun to slide apart. "How... did... we...?"

The thought was finished as Negi stood up and then, he dissolved into sparkling lights. "It's... over?"

"Yes, it's over," said Nagi, getting up and smiling at Negi. Walking over, he rubbed his hand in his hair and said, "I'm sorry I didn't have much time together with you. You've grown so much. When I recorded this, you weren't even born yet."

"Father," whispered Negi and Nagi chuckled.

"Grow up strong, okay kiddo? And take care of Eva-chan for me. Lord knows she needs some companionship." Nagi looked over at Evangeline who watched them and he said, "Someday soon, Eva-chan. Sometime later."

In a sparkling light, Nagi vanished and in his place was Albrieo who ruffled Negi's hair once last time.

* * *

The party at Hinata House was like no other that night, going late into the early part of the morning. The early morning dawn found Evangeline wrapped in her fluffy bathrobe and wincing as she stretched a muscle. "Damn, this hurts," she grimaced. 

"Master? Are you up here?" asked Negi and the girl looked over. "I was worried, thought you had gone somewhere in your condition."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," said Evangeline, turning away. "I'm a vampire, I can heal pretty easily. But mazoku-inflicted wounds are pretty hard to heal from so I'll be a lame duck for a while."

Negi nodded and he settled down next to the girl. A cool wind washed over the pair, a prelude to the dawn and he said, "Master... were you really worried about all of us?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, you say you're evil, but you don't act it." Negi smiled and added, "If anything you act more like a normal girl all the time!"

If Evangeline had been drinking something, she would have spat it out in shock. "I DO NOT!"

"Hahahaha," chuckled Negi.

The pair fell into comfortable silence for a few minutes and then, Evangeline said, "Are you dwelling on what happened?"

"Sort of," said Negi.

"It's not your fault, boya, if that's what you're thinking. He came for me and your dad just happened to off the mazoku." Evangeline looked at him and said, "Kiddo, you're pretty special you know."

"Why do you say that?" asked Negi, curious.

"How many people have two artefacts?" smirked Evangeline, poking his nose. "There's only exceptional magi who have it. Sarah has two which says a lot."

"Huh, fancy that," said Negi. "Well I guess, there's no point worry about it, right, Master?"

Negi's smile was infectious and Evangeline found herself smiling alongside him. "Right. I guess you're right, boya. Nothing to worry about at all."

The morning light broke through the haze of the dawn and like magic, the mists surrounding Hinata City was brushed away like a cosmic hand had deemed to clean the world away, revealing the splendour of the morning. "Pretty," said Negi and Evangeline blushed, not knowing if he referred to her or the dawn.

_His sword and sheath. No doubt about it; they're the Sun and the Moon. Father, are you really looking out for me?_

Downstairs, Haruka looked up at the pair and smiled, tucking away the book that was embossed with the words "McDowell Family Tree". On the front was a crest with a claymore and a sheath crossed before a shield and beneath it read in Latin "To Protect Our Family, We Honour You Above All."

"I guess things come full circle, don't they?" remarked Albrieo as he tended to his wounds.

"I suppose they do," nodded Haruka. Then, she noticed a glow across town. "Huh, isn't that Kotarou's apartment?"

"I think so," remarked Albrieo. "I think it's also on fire."

* * *

"And that's the story Neechans," said Kotarou, looking embarrassed. "I really need a place to stay and I just found out that Chigusa-neechan also gave up her crusade. Please?" 

"I suppose it works out," smirked Evangeline. "But you and the boya are working for your keep, got it?"

"Eeeh?" exclaimed Negi. "But I'm the manager!"

"Aniki, don't fight with them, it'll only cause more pain later on," moaned Kamo.

"Geez, how can this get worse?" remarked Kotarou, rubbing his head.

"Um, excuse me?" The entire household looked at the figure in the door. A stuffed lion thing stood in the doorway, a stick with a small handkerchief tied around the end as sort of a travel pack. "Can I get a room?"

Evangeline felt the dark energy from the stuffed animal, or rather the remains of it. She goggled at the lion thing and exclaimed, "Dracula?!"

Immediately the girls were on edge as the lion thing waved it's arms frantically. "No, no, no! That idiot is dead! I'm Kon, the mazoku who was with him. You kids ruined me and now I have nowhere else to go."

"Say what?" said Naru.

"It's true," said Kon, his head drooping. "If I go back, I'll be mocked for eternity. PLEASE LET ME STAY, I BEG OF YOU!"

"Whoo boy," remarked Kitsune. "This is going to be one odd year."


End file.
